Taking Chances and Making Changes
by SlytherinPotter98350
Summary: After being given some advice at the end of her third year, Hayley Potter decides to take chances, make changes and see if she really could forge her own path away from the expectations of others.
1. Chapter 1 - Introduction

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley Liliana Potter had never had a loving or caring family growing up and so when she became 11 and was on her journey to Hogwarts she immediately trusted the first people that showed her any real act of kindness this she went along with what they told her about the wizarding world.

After arriving at Hogwarts, she had originally wanted to do well in her studies but felt that if she did too well she would lose Ronald as a friend due to his laid-back attitude towards his studies and education. So, she followed his example and did average in her studies and followed his example about who she should and shouldn't associate with due to either their house or their family name. She continued this throughout her first, second and third years. When it came to choosing her electives for third year she once again followed Ron's example and choose the less challenging subjects.

At the end of her third year just before he left the school, one of her parent's close friends and that years Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin told her that she didn't have to hold herself back on her friend's behalf and that she didn't have to follow the expectations that others had of her and if she wanted to she could forge her own path.


	2. Chapter 2 - Realisations and First Steps

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

For the first few days after I got back from Hogwarts for the summer holidays, I didn't really think much about what Remus had said to me the day before I returned home as in my mind I wasn't really holding myself back that much in my studies. Because I couldn't stop thinking about it after I had finished my chores in the evening I spent the last few days of the first week looking back on my all my tests and graded homework assignments for the past 3 years and I was slightly shocked at just how much I really was holding myself back in my studies.

After finally realising just how much better I could be better in my classes I decided to stop settling for average grades just because it required less effort and resolved to try harder to get better grades starting from when I arrived for my fourth year at Hogwarts. I also made my mind up that between now and going back in September I would recap all of my previous year's textbooks to make sure that I better understood as much as possible before returning.

For subjects like Charms. Transfiguration, Defence, Potions and Herbology as I wasn't able to practice any practical elements I decided I would make sure to practice the practical parts once I returned to Hogwarts. For other subjects such as History Of Magic and Astronomy that didn't have very many practical elements involved, I was able to reap the majority of the curriculum for both subjects. I even found that the content for History of Magic was actually quite interested when it wasn't being taught by a ghost in a monotone voice.

The subjects that I found the easiest to understand after reading through them again were surprisingly Potions and Herbology. I now understood the reasons why certain ingredients had to be prepared in a certain way and how depending on the potion the smallest mistake could make a huge difference.

 _"It makes so much sense now as to why Snape is so strict. It's because if we make a mistake it could be really dangerous" I thought to myself_

I let out a small laugh _" I can't wait to see the look on Snape's face next year when I return to class and I actually have some kind of idea as to what I'm doing"_

I decide to leave recaping Divination and Care of Magical Creatures for now just until I can send a letter to Professor McGonagall asking her if it was at all possible to change at least one of my electives if not both.

* * *

At the end of the day just before I go to bed for the night I write out a letter to Professor McGonagall about changing electives.

 _"Dear Professor McGonagall I am writing to you to inquire as to whether or not it would be possible to change one or both of my current elective subjects. As to why I have decided that I would like to switch is that I feel that Divination is very much wasted on me as it is clear that I do not possess the talents of a true seer and as much as I have enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures it once again seems to be wasted on me as the subject doesn't prepare me for my chosen career path. If switching is at all possible I would like to switch to Ancient Runes and Arithmancy._

 _Thank you_

 _Hayley Potter "_

I folded up the letter and addressed it to Professor McGonagall and sent Hedwig off with it happy that the Dursley's had taken the bars off my window and had allowed me to send letters with Hedwig rather than having to keep her locked up. Of course, they had only agreed to this after I had told them about Sirius. I had told them that he was going to be writing to me and would be worried if I didn't respond to him. They of course still thought that he was an escaped murderer.

I left my window open as I went to bed that night so that Hedwig could get back in if she returned before I woke up the next morning. I turned out the small bedside lamp after putting away my things before climbing under the thin bed sheets smiling as I took my glasses off and left them next to my lamp on the table beside me.

 **Authors Note - Hey guys this chapter is slightly longer than the previous one but still short. The chapters will progressively get longer as we go. Reviews are greatly appreciated. I already have some ideas for future chapters but if you guys have any suggestions please leave a review with your idea or feel free to send me a PM. I aim to upload at least once a week usually on either Wednesday or Thursday.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Decisions

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet. I know that I said that I would usually upload on a Wednesday or a Thursday but I got this chapter finished earlier than expected so rather than waiting another day I decided to post it. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognize it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

"Girl get up and get started on breakfast" Aunt Petunia loudly screeches at me while sharply knocking on my door. I am used to my aunt making me up like this as she has been doing this for years now. I quickly put on my glasses before throwing on some clothes from my small wardrobe. I give my long black hair a quick brush. My hair has always been unruly ever since I was a child. I soon gave up on leaving it down and threw it up into a ponytail. Once done I headed downstairs to quickly get started on making breakfast.

* * *

After clearing up from breakfast my uncle left for work and Dudley left to go to Piers's house. I was given a short list of chores as my relatives were wary of giving me too many and causing me to tell Sirius. I smirked to myself amazed that such a simple threat would work so well. I got started on the list of chores which took me just a few hours to complete. After I had finished I went back up to my room and found Hedwig waiting for me with a letter tied to her leg. I untied the letter, gave her a treat and some water before sitting down at my small wooden desk to read the letter. I broke the seal of the letter, unfolding it slowly hoping that I was allowed to switch electives.

 _"Dear Miss Potter_

 _After receiving your letter regarding if it was possible to change electives I am pleased that you have been able to come to the realization that it is in your best interests to choose electives that will better aid you in your future career choice. I have spoken to Professor Babbling and Professor Vector who teach Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, respectively. They both expressed concerns about your ability to catch up due to you wishing to join a year late. After reviewing your grades in other subjects they have said that they will offer you two choices. Your first choice is to purchase the third year textbooks for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes from Diagon Alley, cover all of the curriculum covered and register to take to take the end of year test for both subjects at the Ministry of Magic before you return to Hogwarts in the fall and if you achieve a minimum of an Acceptable Grade in both exams then the Professors will allow you join your fellow 4th year classmates. Your other option is when you return to Hogwarts rather than you taking the electives with your 4th-year classmates you can join the third years for both subjects._

 _Please respond with your decision no later than the 10th of July_

 _Thank you_

 _Professor McGonagall "_

 _Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

I smiled as I finished reading the letter. I was really glad that I got to change my electives. I wasn't too sure of which option was best because if I decided to take the classes with the third years It would be extremely embarrassing and the entire school population would know within a few hours which was something I really could do with avoiding. On the other hand, I don't know if I would be able to cover all of the curricula for both subjects well enough between now and the end of summer to be able to pass with at least an Acceptable grade.

I sigh as I put the letter down on the desk and lay down on my bed. I think over my options and almost debate sending a letter to Hermione and Ron to ask for their opinion but I quickly shut down that idea as I need to stop relying on my friends to make all of my decisions for me. After thinking on it for a while I make the decision to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow and have a look at both of the textbooks to see if I felt like I could realistically cover all of the content over the summer.

Satisfied with my decision I use my free time to look back through some more of my notes from different classes. In between what is mostly study notes on various assignments I spot a piece of parchment with what looks like a conversation on. I put the other papers to one side and look at the notes. I smile remembering that it was a conversation between me and Neville. Neville had decided to stay at Hogwarts rather than going to Hogsmeade to work on a Potions and Herbology essays that was due in that Monday and I had done the same. Luckily because it was a Hogsmeade weekend it meant that the library was quieter and less busy than usual. We had sat together and conversed over messages while working on our assignments together helping each other when needed.

As I re-read all of the messages I smiled to myself remembering how nice it had been to work on an assignment without the constant threat of an argument between Ron and Hermione breaking out at any minute. It was also nice to talk to Neville more and get to know him better. I mean I did like Hermione and Ron but it was nice to feel that I had other friends than just the two of them. I decided to write a quick letter to Neville asking him how his summer was going and if he wanted to meet up in Diagon Alley tomorrow at some point to catch up. I tied the letter to Hedwig and sent her off with the instructions to take it to Neville as I didn't know his address.

When I came back up to my room several hours later after I had finished cleaning up after tea I noticed that Hedwig still wasn't back but I wasn't too surprised. To pass the time I made a list of which of my subjects I felt that I had was now able to understand much better and which ones I still had to work on. The ones I was now okay with were Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology and Defence whereas the ones I still needed to work on were Potions, History of Magic and Astronomy.

Just as I was beginning to get into my Astronomy textbook I heard Hedwig taping on my window as I had shut it after sending her without realising it. I stood up to let her in taking the letter and giving her a treat and water as usual. I quickly scanned Nevile's letter.

 _"Hello, Hayley it is really nice to hear from you. My summer has been going well and I hope that yours is too. I spoke to my grandma about meeting up with you in Diagon Alley tomorrow and she said that I could go. I will be there at about 11 o'clock and we can meet up outside of Gringott's at 11._

 _See you tomorrow_

 _Neville Longbottom"_

I smile as I put his letter down on my desk glad that I get the chance to meet up with him tomorrow knowing it will be nice to spend some time with someone other than just Hermione and the Weasley's.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning I was so excited that I woke up a few hours earlier than what was necessary so I spent my time getting a shower trying to not make too much noise and after showering I spent quite a bit of time getting my hair tamed, instead of giving up halfway through and putting it up in a ponytail I put it into a french plait. I then got dressed and went to get breakfast ready and soon enough as I started to near finishing everyone began to wake up and come downstairs.

Just like the day before Uncle Vernon left for work and Dudley left to once again go hang out with Piers. As I cleared away from breakfast I was surprised when Aunt Petunia didn't give me a list of chores stating that she was giving me a break from my chores for the day because she was having the neighbour's round today and she wanted me out of the house for as long as possible.

I went up to my room checking the time and seeing that I had about half an hour until I needed to leave to catch the Knight Bus I re-did my braid seeing that it had come partially messy after cooking. I then proceeded to put on my shoes and jacket glad that I had bought some new clothes the previous summer that still fit. I double checked that I had my wand and the small coin purse that contained enough money for the Knight Bus along with my Gringott's vault key.

As I left the house I quickly headed to a more secluded area so that I could call the bus without anybody seeing. I called the bus like I had done last year and was still surprised at the speed at which it arrived. I got on politely greeting Stan before telling him where I wanted to go. "The Leaky Cauldron please Stan,"I said happily handing him the money before taking a seat. Thankfully I was better prepared for the speed that the Knight Bus goes and was mostly able to keep from flying forward out of my seat.

I was extremely pleased and relieved when I finally got off at my stop outside of the Leaky Cauldron. Getting off I took a moment to let my stomach settle after the extremely bumpy ride before heading into the Leaky Cauldron. I still couldn't get used to the fact that even this early in the morning it was still quite busy, Luckily I knew how to get through and carried on quickly through the back door giving Tom a quick but still polite greeting trying to avoid being mopped by the entire pub like I had the first time that Hagrid had brought me. Glancing at the time I saw that it was almost 11 so I made my way through the alley until I reached Gringott's. I noticed that Neville hadn't arrived yet so I sat down on a nearby bench to wait.

Luckily I didn't have to wait very long until I spotted Neville and his grandmother come out of a nearby Floo. I stood up smiling and headed over to them.

"Hey Neville It's great to see you," I say happily as I reach him.

He smiles as he turns to me."It is great to see you too Hayley" He said before turning to his grandmother. "Grandmother this is my friend Hayley Potter, Hayley this is my grandmother".

"It is very nice to meet you, Mrs Longbottom," I say politely offering my hand for her to shake. We shake hands.

"It is very nice to meet you too Miss Potter," She says politely.

She then turns to Neville. "I will be picking up the things that I need and then we will meet back here in two hours for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron." Then she turns to me, I notice that she softens ever so slightly."You are more than welcome to join us Hayley..., if you wish"

I smile at her and nod."I would like that very much Mrs Longbottom thank you"

"You are most welcome dear," Mrs Longbottom says to me kindly, before turning back to Neville once again, handing him something which I then realise is his vault key."Here is your key Neville please be careful with it and don't spend too much money on useless things okay." he looks around slightly embarrassed and offended at the same time. his grandmother then gives him a bright smile before walking towards her vault

Once she is gone I see Neville visibly relax and I get the feeling that she must be like that a lot, if not all the time.

I turn to Neville smiling happily."So how about we go to Gringott's first and then we go and look around the alley"I suggest

"Yeah that sounds great" He nods slightly timid before we make our way into the bank.

* * *

Once we have both gotten our money we leave the bank and start walking around the alley looking at the different stores. We start talking about what we have been up to so far and I tell him about my decision to change my electives. "I wrote Professor McGonagall a letter the other day about whether I could change my electives and she said that I could but I have to either take the end of year test in August at the Ministry or start the course with the third years. I haven't decided what to do yet so I thought that I should have a quick look at the books before buying them, what do you think I should Neville?"

He looks at me smiling."That's great Hayley, but it's not my choice, what classes are you taking?" "should be switching to arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Muggle Studies is pretty pointless considering I grew up in the Muggle world" I explain smiling. "Those two subjects seem quite interested but I heard that they can sometimes be a bit of a challenge," Neville says to me as we continue heading towards Flourish and Blotts. "I heard that too but that's part of the reason why I chose them I wanted my electives to be a bit more of a challenge so that I have to think more and work harder to get better grades"I say to him before beginning my story about what Remus had said to me at the end of the school year. He nods and smiles supportively when I realise that we have arrived at Flourish and Blotts. Luckily it isn't too busy as it is still quite early on in the summer.

We quickly find the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes books for third year before Neville finds us a table so that I could quickly look through them to see if I felt as though it was possible for me to pass it between now and August. I voiced my concerns to Neville and he turns to me."Of course, you will be able to pass Hayley. I 'm sure of it" he tells me kindly.

"Thank you Neville", I say genuinely. I immediately make up my mind and I resolve to write Professor McGonagall a letter informing her of my choice as soon as I got home that night.

* * *

After purchasing both of the books as well as a few others that seemed interesting we left the bookstore and continued to explore the various shops around the alley. I bought a number of things including some more owl treats for Hedwig from Eyelops Owl Emporium, new stationery supplies from Scribbulus Writing Instruments and a new pair of seeker gloves from Quality Quidditch Supplies as my current ones were a few years old now. Soon after we had finished our small shopping excursion it was time to meet back up with Neville's grandmother to go for some lunch at The Leaky Cauldron.

Lunch was pleasant enough even if I could practically feel Neville's uncomfortableness rise when his grandmother would pull him up on the slightest mistakes as well as make unnecessary comments about his forgetfulness. When it came to paying for lunch I tried to refuse when Mrs Longbottom said that she would pay for my meal but she wasn't having any of it commenting that because she had invited me to join them for lunch she would pay for me.

After we had paid and left the pub Mrs Longbottom informed me that they had to leave and politely asked me if I needed help getting back home but I said that I was going to continue looking around the alley and that I would be fine making my own way back on the Knight Bus. I walked with them back to the nearest Floo Point and I told Neville that I would write to him in a few days before shaking hands with his grandmother before they floo'd home.

After looking around the alley and seeing nothing else of interest to me at the moment I walked back towards Gringott's to get some of my wizarding money changed into muggle money as I wanted to explore some of the shops in muggle London. After changing my money I headed back through the alley and back through the Leaky Cauldron walking out into the muggle street. It was in that moment that I was thankful that Mrs Longbottom had put a shrinking and feather-light charm on all of my purchases from Diagon Alley.

As I began to make my way up the street being careful not to wander too far, I bought some new clothes, shoes, makeup and accessories. After exiting my final shop I noticed that it was starting to get late as the crowd of people was starting to thin. I looked at my watch and decided to head back down to The Leaky Cauldron. Rather than getting the bus straight away I went back inside the pub and waited until Tom was free from customers before asking him if he could place the same charms on my bags as Mrs Longottom had done earlier. I ordered a pumpkin juice choosing to sit in one of the corners so as not to attract too much attention to myself Once finished I paid, gave him a generous tip before going back outside to get the Knight Bus.

* * *

Soon enough the Knight Bus dropped me back where I had originally boarded and I began the short walk back to the Dursley's hoping that Uncle Vernon was still out at work. Fortunately when I turned the corner onto the Privet Drive Vernon's car wasn't in the driveway and I was able to make it back inside without a fuss. I quickly took all of my shrunken purchases out of my pockets and unshrunk them before putting everything away in my Hogwarts trunk that was under my bed so that it was out of the way and mostly out of sight. Thankfully Aunt Petunia had told me when I came in that I wasn't cooking for everyone tonight as Dudley was staying at Piers's house overnight and her and Uncle Vernon were taking the opportunity to go out for a meal so I would be alone for most of the evening.

I hurriedly made my own tea so that I could eat it in peace before Uncle Vernon returned. Returning to my room after I had finished clearing away my dishes from tea I noticed that there was an owl perched on the window sill with a letter attached to its leg waiting somewhat patiently. I went over and untied the letter and rewarding the beautiful owl with a few treats. Unfolding the letter on my bed making sure to be careful and cautious I was glad when nothing happened. My eyes widened as I glanced at who had sent me the letter.

 **Authors Note - Yes I know I'm mean leaving it on a cliffhanger like that. Hope you are all enjoying the story and will continue to read it as it progresses. Please leave a review with who you think has sent the letter.** **If you get it right then I will give you a shout out in the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who has read the previous chapters and an even bigger thank you to the people that have reviewed, favourited and followed the story.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Unlikely Saviours

_Taking_ _Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine. Many characters will be OOC.**

Hayley POV

My eyes widened as I read who had sent me the letter. _"_ _Why would Professor Snape be sending me a letter during the summer?"_ I think to myself as I continued reading.

 _Dear Miss Potter,_

 _I am sure that you are extremely confused as to why I am writing to you during your summer break and even more confused as to why I haven't used one of the school owls. This is because I do not want the Headmaster to know that I have told you any of this. After your defeat of He Who Must Not Be Named, the majority of his followers were apprehended and incarcerated in Azkaban but there were a number of them who are still free. I was once a Death Eater myself but it had been a mistake and I defected to the light side shortly before his demise. One of my close friends had also been forced to join his ranks and become a death eater. He hadn't wanted to but You-Know-Who had threatened the life of his wife and unborn child. The person I am referring to is Lucius Malfoy. Yes, I know that you will find it hard to believe but he had never wanted to join but couldn't let his wife and child suffer the consequences. Lucius did not get a chance to defect to the light before his demise and even though he managed to stay out of Azkaban he still has a bad reputation amongst much of the wizarding population._

 _In order to keep his family safe, he still keeps up the facade of a loyal death eater. He visited me earlier this morning to inform me that a small group of loyal death eaters had somehow managed to discover your address where you reside with your relatives. He told me that they are planning to attack your residence sometime this evening. As soon as you read this letter you must gather your things and leave immediately. In order to make it safer for you to leave unseen, this letter is a port key that will take you straight to the Malfoy's when you say the Saviour when holding on to it. As much as you might not trust them Lucius means you no harm._

 _Professor Snape_

I gulped nervously as I finished reading. Despite how Snape had treated me during the past 3 years at Hogwarts I still trusted him that this was true. I quickly sprung into action and packed away all of my things into my Hogwarts trunk and one of the old duffel bags that had once been Dudley's but had been given to me when he had wanted a new one. I finished packing everything except the letter just as I heard my Uncle's car pulling up. I really hoped that they will have left before the death eaters arrive because as mean as they are towards me they are still family.

Not wanting to waste any time I slung the duffel bag over my shoulder and held on to my trunk with one hand while holding the letter in my other hand. I spoke the word that would take me to the Malfoy's and I suddenly felt an awful feeling as though I had been hooked behind my navel.

The world was a complete blur of colours despite having my eyes closed and I when I opened them again I was very dizzy and I hunched over trying to get over how nauseous I felt. When I was back to normal I looked around and I was in a very large and posh entrance hall which had a large staircase next to it. The walls were a combination of grey and white with accents of dark green and black. I was so engrossed in looking around the beautiful decor, I didn't even notice that a house elf had appeared next to me and it was only the second time that she spoke that I snapped out of my trance.

"Miss Potter are you alright," she asks.

I look down at the house elf blushing slightly."Yes I am fine thank you I was just in a little world of my own" I admitted sheepishly

The house elf smiles."That is fine I is Mimsey and if you will please come with you and I will take to where master and mistress are waiting"

I nod and follow Mimsy through the house through a series of doors before we finally arrive in what appears to be a large sitting room. In the centre of the room, there is a large table between two large couches that were white and pristine with two chairs in the same colour. I noticed that all throughout the house the decor was mostly white or grey with accents of green and black.

Sitting on one of the couches was Draco with who I assumed must be his mother and sitting across from them in one of the chairs was Lucius Malfoy. I was also partially surprised to see Professor Snape sitting on the couch opposite Draco and his mother. Professor Snape stood up and walked over as soon as he saw me.

"Miss Potter I am relieved to see that you are okay I wasn't sure if you would receive the letter on time,"Snape says to me sounding surprisingly concerned

I nod still feeling quite overwhelmed with everything. Even with Snape assuring me in the letter that the Malfoy's wished me no harm I couldn't help but feel nervous to be in their house.

Snape told me to sit down and I sat down in the chair opposite of Lucius as I was too nervous to sit next to anyone just yet. Summoning all my bravado and Gryffindor courage, I forced myself to not look down at my shoes despite how uncomfortable and anxious I was feeling about the whole situation.

I took a breath before looking over at Snape and Lucius. "Thank you for warning me about the attack," I said genuinely

"It is no problem, Miss Potter despite the differences we both have had with each other I couldn't in good conscience not forewarn you when I knew what was about to happen," Lucius says

"So what's going to happen to me now," I say

"Well, I'm sure that you don't want to stay with your relatives if you are able to return at all," Snape says

"Definitely not" I mutter under my breath

"You are more than welcome to stay here over the summer but if that makes you feel uncomfortable you can always stay with one of your friends or even at the Leaky Cauldron"Narcissa speaks up

Snape agrees."It would probably be best to not alert the Headmaster to your whereabouts as he will probably try to interfere and I am sure you have at least realised that he pays more attention to your home life than he does for any other student"

"I have noticed and at first I thought it was because of being the girl who lived but it still is a little strange why he seems to feel he has the right to interfere so much," I say frowning thinking everything over.

"I think that I am going to stay at the Leaky Cauldron just because I don't exactly feel comfortable staying here because of the problems that we have had in the past. Even though I know that you don't mean me any harm it still makes me feel really nervous and anxious."I explain to them hoping that they wouldn't be upset or mad.

Luckily none of them are angry with my decision and they understand my reasoning behind it. They say that even though I have chosen to stay at the Leaky Cauldron I am always welcome at their house.

Professor Snape says that he will accompany me to the Leaky Cauldron to make sure that Tom doesn't give away my location to anyone especially the Headmaster.

"Professor will you please keep me informed as to what happens with the attack. Even though the Dursley's didn't exactly treat me that well, they are still my family and I don't wish them dead" I explain slightly hesitantly

He looks at me almost surprised before giving me an approving nod."As soon as I know what has happened I will send you a letter"

I collect my things from the Malfoy's entrance hall and both Snape and myself use the Floo network to Floo straight to the Leaky Cauldron.

Fortunately, I am able to land in the correct Floo grate, unlike the last time when I ended up in Knockturn Alley. As Snape had floo'd first he is already there and has immediately gone to speak with Tom who thankfully wasn't busy with customers at the moment.

He agrees to not tell anyone that I am staying there and we arrange for him to take the payment for the room out of my vault at Gringotts at the end of my stay.

Due to the surprisingly small amount of people currently in the pub, Tom helps me take my trunk and duffel bag up to my room. Before leaving back down to the pub area he hands me the keys and tells me what times the meals are at.

Once gone I unpack my things. Because of how tiring my day had been I was originally going to go straight to bed but I thought that it would be best to write Professor McGonagall a quick letter informing her of my decision to take the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes exam at the end of summer at the ministry. Not knowing if the attack had happened already and if so, if the headmaster already knew I made the letter vague and simple to make it seem as though I had sent the letter before the attack had occurred. I sent Hedwig off with it. I took a breath as I watched her fly off towards Hogwarts. I continued to look out of the window staring out at Diagon Alley looking at the different shops and street vendors that were still open.

As I had eaten at the Dursley's I felt no need to go downstairs for an evening meal so I decided to stay in my room and start on going through the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes textbooks. I decided to read the first 3 chapters of each book making sure to take notes on each chapter as I went through to ensure that I understood everything.

I was pleasantly surprised that the first chapters were relatively easy to understand and they were both much more interesting than Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. Ancient Runes was much similar to the French classes that I had taken at my primary school in that it was translating another language into English. Arithmancy was a little harder because of the various number charts that were quite complex and hard to understand at first but eventually, I got the hang of it and understood them more. I could now understand why Hermione had such open contempt for Divination and compared the two subjects because although both subjects related to predicting future events, Arithmancy focuses more on rigorous mathematical approaches whereas Divination is very much reliant on guesswork unless you possess Seer abilities which are quite rare.

After reading those few chapters I put the books and papers on the desk opposite the bed. Looking at the time I decided to get ready for bed. Soon enough I was laying in bed feeling quite tired but still couldn't sleep as I had so many thoughts running around in my head. I am excited about not having to go back to the Dursley's. Nervous about what will happen if Dumbledore finds out as well as concerned about Petunia and Vernon. _"At least Dudley isn't in any danger as he is sleeping at Piers's house and I just hope that Petunia and Vernon don't come back before it happens,"_ I think to myself.

I soon fall asleep the bed being so much more comfortable than the one at the Dursleys.

* * *

The next morning I woke up momentarily forgetting where I was before remembering what had happened yesterday. I quickly got out of bed grabbing my glasses before seeing that there weren't any letters yet. I sighed in disappointment before getting dressed for the day. I gave my hair a brush before putting it up in a bobble. I head downstairs to go get some breakfast. I ordered my breakfast at the bar and went to sit at a table in the corner again. Soon Tom brought my food over and I began to eat in relative peace watching the small number of customers glad that no one had really noticed me.

I take my time to eat, eventually finishing and standing up to pay Tom. I slowly make my way upstairs to my room. Going in and shutting the door I glance noticing that Hedwig still hasn't returned. I sigh and pick up my books from the desk intending to read through 3 more chapters of the textbooks before going into the alley. I sit down and continue to read through the books. I note that as I get further into the books it does get slightly harder and I have to spend more time going over each chapter but my determination to pass makes me continue until I fully understand the content.

When lunchtime has rolled around I have managed to cover another 4 chapters in both of the books. I see that while I have been busy studying Hedwig has arrived at my window without a letter. _"Professor McGonagall mustn't have sent a letter back so they might not know about the attack yet,"_ I think to myself

I study for about another two hours as I don't really feel hungry. When I eventually decided to get myself some lunch I have covered another two chapters in both of the textbooks and done one of the practice quizzes in each book.

I stand up deciding to get some lunch in muggle London rather than eating at the Leaky Cauldron. I grab my thin jacket and grab my purse seeing that I still had enough left from yesterday and didn't have to go back to Gringott's. Stopping to look in the mirror I look at my hair hating how difficult it is to maintain because the length of it doesn't help that it is constantly quite frizzy and harm to tame. I decide to look around London after eating too see if I can find a hair salon and make an appointment to get it cut.

I walk downstairs to the main pub area and walk out of the door. I look at the time and I start to walk to where I had been yesterday and I find a nice looking cafe that looks to be quite quiet.

About an hour later I leave. I continue to walk around going further than I had yesterday to try and find a nice hair salon. After a decent amount of walking and searching, I come across one that looks quite good. I take a breath and walk in. I start talking to the receptionist asking when they are next available to fit me in. The woman says that the main hairdresser can fit me in for a consultation right now to talk about what I want doing so they can determine how long it will take. W=I sit down and the hairdresser asks me what I had in mind.

"I just kind of want it cutting to shoulder length,"I said explaining that it is quite frizzy and unruly so having it cut shorter would make it easier to manage.

She nods understanding my explanation."That's great, I can definitely do that. Are you looking to having anything else done with the colour at all?"

I think about it"I'm not sure. I mean it would be nice but there isn't much that we can do without bleach because it is so dark" I say confused

"It is possible to lift naturally black hair to a slightly lighter brown colour without bleach as long you haven't previously dyed it before" She explains to me patiently

I listen to her explanation pausing to think about how it would look. I smile."Yeah okay, let's do that"I say.

The hairdresser smiles and looks through her appointment book to see when she can fit me in. "I have time to do it this Friday at three o'clock if that is fine with you," She says looking up at me.

"That's fine with me," I say making a mental note to not plan anything for then.

She nods as she takes my name and puts it in her book before handing me a little card with the date and time on. I take it and thank her before leaving shortly after, I smile as I head back down the street buying a few more clothes and other small things that had caught my eye on the way up.

Soon enough I get back down to the Leaky Cauldron and head back up to my room to drop off my bags. I sort through my clothes putting them away in the correct places. I see that while I have been out two owls have arrived and are waiting on my windowsill. I give both of the owl treats and water before untying both letters. I sit down looking at who had sent them.

One letter is from Professor Snape and I instantly realise that it must be information about the attack. The other letter is from Neville and I remind myself that I need to tell him to not tell anyone where I am staying. I set aside Neville's for the time being and unfold Professor Snape's letter first finding myself curious and anxious as to what happened with the attack.

 _"Dear Miss Potter,_

 _Lucius informed me this morning what happened to your relatives in regards to the attack. Fortunately, your aunt and uncle were both out of the house when the attack took place. The death eaters who orchestrated the attack destroyed the house in anger when they realised that you were not there. I can inform you that the Headmaster is aware of the attack due to some kind of wards that he had around your home to monitor it as well as yourself. He currently believes that you are either missing or had been kidnapped in the attack. It is unknown whether he will be informing the press but I would not go outside without taking measures to disguise yourself. To make it easier for you to stay hidden I suggest that you visit Gringott's and speak to your account manager to see if they can help you._

 _I will keep you updated as to what the Headmasters plans are and how he proceeds with attempting to locate you._

 _Professor Snape"_

Placing the letter on my desk I sigh feeling relieved neither Petunia or Vernon were injured but annoyed that I was going to have to disguise myself for most of the summer. Glancing outside noting with relief that the alley wasn't too crowded I decide to go to Gringott's now rather than leaving it and risk getting caught. I throw on my shoes and a hat that I had purchased in London, ensuring that my vault key was in my pocket I left the pub quickly. I headed through the alley quickly enough to not draw attention to herself but not going to fast so that people would be suspicious.

I go into the bank feeling glad that it was mostly empty. I went over to the closest bank teller. I look up at him feeling nervous."Hello, I would like to see my account manager" handing my vault key over to the Goblin. He inspects the key closely before nodding to himself before handing the key back over to me."He speaks to a passing Goblin in a language that I don't understand."Goblin Grintor will escort you to your account manager"He tells me.

The Goblins walks in front of me through a series of long twisting hallways and doors before suddenly stopping at a large door with a nameplate saying **Account Manager Vinclaw**

Taking a few minutes to calm my nerves I walk in and sit in the chair across from the desk from Vinclaw.

"What can I help you with today Miss Potter," Vinclaw asks politely

I explain the situation to him glad that he didn't press for further information about why I didn't want to go back to my relatives.

Vinclaw sits there silently clear that he is deep in thought about the best way to proceed."There is a goblin charm that I can cast on you that will make it possible for you to look different to everyone except those that are aware that you are under the charm"He explains

"I will apply to charm to yourself and when you want someone to see your true self all you have to do is show them this"He explains handing me a small piece of parchment with a series of strange marks on. "Muggles also won't be affected by the charm so they will still your regular self" He adds

"Thank you Goblin Vinclaw. How much will the fee for that be?"I ask him

"It will be 10 Galleons and we can take that straight out of your vault"He explains. " In regards to the headmaster wanting to stay with your relatives there isn't much that can be done as he has made himself your magical guardian but once you turn 14 in two weeks time you can legally change your magical guardian and he won't be able to do anything about it or have a say in where you decide to live" Vinclaws informs me.

"That is great thank you,"I say genuinely

He applies the charm and hands me the parchment once again and I place it in my pocket.

Eventually, I left the bank after taking a small detour to my vault to take out some more money. I felt relieved that even if Dumbledore informed the press that I was supposedly missing I wouldn't have to completely stay hidden for the whole of the summer.

I head back through the alley intending to go straight back to the Leaky Cauldron when a stall caught my eye. The vendor had the stall set up outside a shop that had been closed down since my first ever trip to Diagon Alley. I walked up looking at the various items that he had on display. I spotted a pair of rings that were labelled communication rings. The vendor saw that I was looking at them and proceeded to explain what they could be used for.

"They can be used to telepathically communicate with the person or persons with a matching ring. If the person/persons with the matching ring is injured or in danger, it will alert you by the gem changing colours"He explains."It will turn red if they are injured and black if they are in danger. If you press the gem in the middle it will instantly teleport you to where the other person is"He tells me

"That's great I will take one set of two rings please,"I say handing him the money. He hands me two boxes with the respective ring inside."When you put them on it will shrink to fit your finger and nobody will be able to see it except for yourself.

After thanking him I place the boxes in my pocket and continue to walk back to the Leaky Cauldron. _"That will make communicating with Neville over the summer so much easier than having to constantly send letters back and forth"_

I enter the Leaky Cauldron again and waited until Tom had finished serving a group of customers. I went up to him smiling seeing his confused expression before I handed him the piece of parchment and watched as his expression changed into one of understanding. I smile at him and asked if I could order my evening meal in my room that night and he said yes. I told him what time I would like it bringing out and I paid him. I walked up the stairs and went into my room sitting at my desk to read Neville's letter.

As it was quite short I wrote out a small letter to send back along with the ring. Thinking for a few moments realising that I hadn't written Hermione and Ron yet I wrote out a small letter to them both not telling them anything specific in case they decided to tell the headmaster. I explained that I was safe and that I was sorry that I hadn't written earlier as I had found myself busy. At the end of the letter, I said that I would try to write more frequently during the summer.

Folding all three letters up I gave them to Hedwig explaining who to take them to and to go to deliver Nevile's first. I watched her fly out of the window and I sat down to do some more studying of the textbooks.

 **Authors Note - I was going to make the chapter longer but I thought it would be better to slow things down and seperate things into multiple chapters.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Celebrations and New Chances

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

Waking up I put my glasses on looking at my desk that was still covered by open textbooks and parchment paper covered in notes I remembered that it had been quite late when I had finally stopped studying and went to bed. Looking at my watch on the bedside table my eyes almost popped out my head. _"11: 30 how did I manage to sleep in so late"_ I thought to myself. Getting out of bed I get myself ready. Deciding that it is too late for breakfast now as it is nearing 12 o'clock anyways I go downstairs to get an early lunch.

Sitting down after ordering I turn my attention to the Daily Prophet sitting on the table. I sighed realising that the first half of the paper was about me. As I wait for my lunch I read the first article trying to suppress a groan of annoyance at the article's title.

 _Girl Who Lived ... In Hiding?_

 _"The Girl Who Lived, Miss Hayley Liliana Potter is believed to have gone into hiding shortly after an attack on her home. The attack took place on Tuesday evening sometime around 19:45. No one appeared to have been injured in the attack due to the occupants being out for the evening. Miss Potter was also not there and no one in the wizarding world has seen her since returning home from her Third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Albus Dumbledore has gone on record saying that the school received a letter from Miss Potter the day of the attack regarding her elective choices but since then all attempts to contact her via letters has proven futile due to every attempt to send the girl a letter has resulted in the letters being unreceived. Mr Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger have also gone on record saying that they both received letters from Miss Potter yesterday. According to the letters, she is safe and well. The question is why won't she tell anybody where she is. Is she hiding because she is afraid that the people who orchestrated the attack will come after her once again, or is she up to something that she doesn't want the rest of the wizarding world to know about? I will leave that up to you to decide."_

Putting the paper down as Tom brought my lunch over he gave me a sympathetic smile and a roll of his eyes as the ridiculous story. I pushed the paper away and began to eat.

Just as I was about to stand up and go up to my room I noticed Dumbledore and McGonagall come into the bar and walk over to Tom and from where I was sat I could hear what they were talking about.

"Professors what can I do for you," Tom asks politely despite having a good idea

"We are wanting to know if you have seen Miss Potter going to Diagon Alley during the past few days,"Dumbledore asks

"I saw her the day before the attack but I haven't seen her since then" Tom explains

"Did she say what she was doing or where she would be going afterwards?"Dumbledore asks again

"She said that she was going to do some shopping in the Alley. She had some lunch here and then left. I presumed she was going home" Tom tells them

Professor McGonagall nods."She was probably getting the books for her exams at the end of the summer"

"Sorry I can't be of any more help. I will keep an eye out for her though and if I see her I will make sure to let you know" Tom says.

They soon leave and Tom shoots me a relieved look. I quickly head back up to my room intending to spend most of the day there.

Spotting Hedwig waiting with two letters I untied them from her leg and sat down to read them. I opened Hermione's letter first.

 _"_ _Hayley,_

 _I'm glad that you are safe and well. I was so worried when Professor Dumbledore told us that the Dursley's house had been attacked and that you weren't responding to any letters. I don't know why you won't tell us where you are and I do think that you could at least inform the professors but I suppose that if you are going to such extremes to keep yourself hidden then it is for a good reason and I trust that you know what you are doing. On other notes, I have been staying at the Weasley's for the past few days and I will be staying there for the rest of the summer. Professor McGonagall told me that you are going to be taking the third year Arithmancy and Ancient Runes exam at the end of the summer as you decided to change electives. I wasn't sure how far along you would be in the textbooks so I sent you some of my notes from last year to help you. Mrs Weasley is really worried about you and is really stressed out with everything so it would probably be best to put a small note for her in one of the letters just to assure her that you are okay._

 _P.S If you have seen the Daily Prophet, I hope you're not too mad about Ron and me speaking to the reporter. Professor Dumbledore thought that it would be a good idea._

 _Please write more_

 _Hermione"_

I smile putting the letter down. _"Of course, Hermione would tell me to talk to the professors but at least she said that she trusted that I knew what I was doing,"_ I think to myself pulling out the large pile of notes and putting them aside to look through later.

I unfold Ron's letter hoping that he wouldn't be angry or upset.

 _"Hayley_

 _I was surprised but happy when you wrote to say that you were okay. I'm kind of confused why you won't tell any of us where you are if nothing is wrong but Hermione explained that your worried about the professors sending you back to the Dursley's. If my only other option was the Dursley's then I would stay in hiding too. Mum and Professor Dumbledore are reading all of the letters that you send to Mione and me to see if they can gather anything about where you are but aren't checking the ones we send out. If you want to tell us anything that you really don't want anyone else to know Fred and George told me that they are going to Diagon Alley tomorrow at 2oclock outside the Quidditch Shop to meet up with Lee Jordan. They said to give them any letters containing information that you want to keep a secret and they will give it to me and Mione._

 _Ron"_

I frowned at first thinking that it could be a trap but then I realised that the Twins aren't that and are probably thinking that this is a prank on everyone. Besides no one will be able to recognise me until I show them the parchment. _"I suppose that it can't hurt,"_ I say to myself

I begin to write letters to both of them making sure to be very vague and generic in both of the letters. Following Hermione's advice, I add in a little note to Mrs Weaskey just to try and reassure her that I am okay. I send Hedwig off with the letters before writing out a letter for Hermione and Ron that I will give to the twins.

After putting that in my desk drawer I am about to do some more studying when I look at the ring that I have yet to put on. Thinking that Neville might have tried to get in touch using the ring rather than writing a letter I take it out of its box and put it on my ring smiling as it shrinks to fit perfectly.

Deciding to give it a try I think inside my head. _"Hey, Neville, can you hear me?"_ I say inside my head

 _"Hey Hayley I'm so glad you are okay, your letter was quite vague and then this morning I read about the attack on your relative's house"_ Neville responds sounding relieved

 _"I'm okay Neville I wasn't even there at the time of the attack. I got a letter warning me about it so I packed my things and left immediately"_ I explain

 _"That's such a relief. Thank you for the communication ring there really cool."_ He says changing the subject. _"What made you decide to buy them"_

 _"I saw them in Diagon Alley and thought that they would be quicker to use rather than having to constantly be sending letters back and forth. I didn't even think about this until now but it also means that I can talk to you about things that I don't want other people to know about in case they are trying to find out where I am through my letters"_ I tell him

 _"Yeah, that's a good idea. Professor Dumbledore came by yesterday to ask if you had been in touch at all. I was about to lie to him when my grandmother told him that you hadn't. I asked her why she lied for me and she said that she could tell that you were a sensible girl and that if you were in hiding it was for a good reason"_ Neville tells me. I feel myself smiling at the praise.

 _"Well tell her that I said thank you. Also, I have been in touch with Ron and Hermione and they have been supportive. I haven't told them much yet but Mrs Weasley is checking the letters that I send so I am meeting the twins tomorrow so they can give them a letter telling them what's going on"_ I say.

 _"That's a good idea. Why don't you see if you can get two more of the communication rings and send them with the twins? That way we can all talk about things that we don't want the professors to know about."_ Neville says to me

 _"That's actually a really good idea Neville I'm not sure why I didn't think of that myself,"_ I tell him.

" _It's no problem. I have to stop talking now anyway as my grandmother wants me to make a start on my summer homework"_ He explains

" _That's okay Neville. If you have any trouble just ask me for some help. I haven't started on mine yet either but I'm going to start on it tonight"_ I say

 _"Okay Hayley I'll talk to you later,"_ He says

 _"Bye Neville,"_ I say to him before getting up from my desk. I decide to go and see if I can buy two more of the rings.

I grab my money and leave the pub heading into the alley. Seeing the jewellery vendor I head straight there. While he is busy serving other customers I think about whether it will be better to try and buy two more that match and risk the seller recognising me or just buy another set. I take the ring off my finger and as it becomes visible he turns to me."Hi, I would like to buy two more rings that match this one"I explain handing him the ring. "That is fine" He puts them in boxes and I pay for them. I quickly head to Flourish and Blotts and pick up two books on Herbology for Neville's birthday.

I then head back to the Leaky Cauldron going up to my room putting the books in my trunk for now and the two rings with the letters to give to Fred and George tomorrow.

The next day I headed out to meet the twins outside of the Quidditch Store before going to get my hair done at 3. I made sure to have enough muggle money for my hair appointment. I was glad to find that I hadn't been reported as missing in the muggle world so that I wouldn't be recognised. I made sure to have the piece of parchment in my pocket to show the twins and the letters/package in my other pocket. I arrived at the Quidditch store early and saw that the twins were already there waiting for Lee.

Smiling I walked up to them, I saw them turn towards me with a puzzled but thoughtful expression on their faces. George was about to say something as I handed him the parchment paper and I watched as Fred looked over his brother's shoulder to read what it said.

"Hello Fred, George,"I said smirking

"Hello Harriet,"The two of them said in unison both wearing a smirk of there own

 _"Really Harriet, they couldn't think of anything else,"_ I think to myself in mild annoyance

I take out the package and letter out of my pocket handing them to Fred without saying anything.

Fred puts them in his pocket silently. I smile at them.

"Thank you," I say giving the two of them a hug

"Don't mention it"They say together

I nod. I see Lee coming up the alley from behind the twins and I smile."I'll see you soon"I say as I head back the way I came.

Heading back through the alley I go through the pub and into the muggle world walking up towards the hair salon for my appointment at 3.

About 3 hours later I left walked back down towards the Leaky Cauldron enjoying the feeling of my much shorter hair. We had ended up deciding to use some bleach on my hair to make the brown dye show up better than it would have if we had put the dye on straight. It had taken a while but the stylist was nice and friendly. I walked straight over to Tom and asked him to bring my dinner up to my room and paid before going upstairs. I went into my room and started to go through the letters that Hedwig had brought while I had been out. Unfolding them I noticed that Hermione's was quite general just as Ron's was. I then noticed that on the inside of Ron's envelope was three other letters. Reading the tops of them I realised that they were from Professor Dumbledore.

 _"Dear Miss Potter,_

 _I do not know what you have done but it seems that no letters addressed to you will reach you except those sent by those you consider friends and even Fawkes has been unable to locate you. We are only acting your best interests as we are concerned for your safety and well being especially Professor McGonagall. I implore you to let one of us know where you are so that we can make sure you are safe. Enclosed as part of this letter is your acceptance letter for 4th year as well as your equipment list._

 _I hope you make the wise decision and tell us where you are._

 _Headmaster Dumbledore"_

I look through the other letters glancing over my acceptance letter and my equipment list for next year. I sent off the confirmation letter with Hedwig. I frown as I think about why the letters from the Professors haven't been arriving. I consider the possibilities and my mind wonder if either Snape or the Malfoys cast a spell on me to prevent letters arriving that could either be used to track me or include a port-key. I decide not to question it and just gratefully accept it for now. I continue doing the summer assignments that I started last night and am about halfway through when I hear Hermione's voice in my head.

 _"Hayley these communication rings are so cool"_ Hermione exclaims

 _"Thanks but I didn't think of it initially. I got some for Neville and me, to begin with as it would be easier than constantly sending letters back and forth. We were talking when he said that if I got some for the two of you we could all talk about things that we want to keep secret from the professors."_ I explain

 _"Great thinking Neville"_ I hear Ron say

" _It's okay guys,"_ Neville says

 _"I've been thinking of a way for us to see each other without your mother becoming suspicious. If Neville invites you over for his birthday next week your mum won't think anything strange about it."_ I suggest

 _"Yeah that should work,"_ Ron says

 _"That's fine I will talk to my grandmother about inviting the three of you over on my birthday,"_ Neville says to three of us.

After talking to each other for about another hour I tell the others that I might talk to them later on. Just as the others said goodbye, Tom brought up my tea.

( _ **Skip to Neville's birthday - 30th July)**_

During the past week and a half the 4 of us had talked a lot and despite my thoughts that talking to Ron, Hermione and Neville most of the time would slow down my progress in studying the textbooks, I was surprised at how much I had gotten through. I supposed that being able to ask Hermione for help and get a response almost instantly really helped. I was feeling good about the upcoming exam as I had a full 3 weeks before taking it and I only had 15 more chapters to cover in each book.

I got up earlier than I usually would as Ron and Hermione were meeting me in Diagon Alley in the morning to buy Neville's present as they hadn't had the chance to buy anything yet. I was meeting them at 11 and then we would be flooing to Neville's house at half past 12.

I got up at 8 so that I had the chance to get a few hours of studying in before going to meet them. Just before 11, I made sure I had the parchment paper in my pocket along with my wand and money pouch. I left Neville's present on my desk to pick up before using the Floo. I head downstairs and walked into the alley to meet them outside of Gringott's. As it turned to 11 I saw Ron and Hermione walk towards the bank. I had told them beforehand that I was under a concealment charm and that I wouldn't look like I usually do.

After showing them the paper we hugged before heading down the alley. When Ron said that he didn't have much money to get Neville a present with I said to buy whatever he wanted for him and if he didn't have enough I would help him with the cost.

"Hayley you don't have to do that"Ron said blushing trying to refuse

"I know I don't have to but I want to help,"I say not accepting no for an answer.

After about an hour of searching, they had both found a gift. Hermione had originally wanted to get him a book on Herbology but when I mentioned that I had already gotten him two she decided to get him a few new pairs of herbologists gloves and Ron got him some sweets and an arm holster for his wand after he had told us that his grandmother had finally taken him to get his own wand rather than his fathers.

After finishing purchasing everything and seeing that it was now 12 we headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. I went upstairs to collect Neville's books while Ron and Hermione stayed downstairs.

Hermione (POV)

While Hayley went upstairs to collect Neville's presents from her room Ron and myself stayed downstairs. The bartender Tom came over to us as soon as Hayley was out of earshot handing both of us a few crates of shrunken butterbeer. We smiled as we put them in our pockets.

Neville had written us and told us that the party was going to be for him and Hayley as Hayley's was the very next day. A few days ago he had told us that his grandmother had arranged for us to collect some large crates of butterbeer from Tom to take with us.

The twins had been meeting up with some of the people on the Gryffindor Quidditch team who had said that even though Hayley was in hiding they knew that she was probably in touch with the Weasley's and they had decided to all chip in to get Hayley some Quidditch gear. I had gone into London one day with my parents and gotten Hayley some jewellery and I had made sure to distract Hayley while we were in the sweet shop so that Ron could buy something for her as well.

"Thanks,"I say

"It's not a problem especially after everything Hayley has done for everyone else," Tom says.

I agree with him nodding just as I notice Hayley start to come down the last set of stairs.

Hayley (POV)

I come down the stairs to see Hermione and Ron waiting. I had seen them talking to Tom but thought nothing of it. As we still had another 20 minutes to wait until Neville was expecting us we sat down in the corner of the pub talking. The twins had told them that as long as I had the charm on they were to call me Harriet in public. Ron had laughed and Hermione had giggled slightly. We discussed what we were going to do regarding school shopping as we usually did that together and I told them that I was thinking of revealing to Dumbledore and McGonagall where I was a few days after my birthday.

"Why are you going to wait until then?"Hermione asks

"My account manager at Gringott's told me that at the moment Professor Dumbledore is my magical guardian but once I turn 14 I can legally change it and he can't interfere with the decision,"I explained quietly

"That makes sense"Hermione nods

"Have you thought about who you're going to change it too?"Ron asks me

"I haven't completely made my mind up yet but I have a few people in mind.

The two of them looked at me expectantly."Well, who?"The two said together sounding much like Fred and George

"My first thought was Remus but I was told that because of his condition the ministry wouldn't allow it. I considered asking your mum and dad but I wouldn't want to be a burden on them"I say looking down

"You could never be a burden to them and they would tell you the same thing," Ron says genuinely

"Thanks, Ron, it means a lot,"I say honestly

Hermione smiles."So do you have any other ideas"

"Not yet. I'm going to Gringott's tomorrow to do a lineage test to see if I have any other living relatives on my dad's side and then I'll go from there"I shrug

Soon enough it is time for us to Floo to Neville's. I hand the parchment over to Ron to give to Neville and his grandmother as Ron is going to Floo first, Hermione going second and myself going last.

Neville (POV)

As it nears closer to half-past 12, my grandmother and I wait in the entrance hall where Hermione, Ron and Hayley will Floo too. I turn away from my grandmother as I see the fireplace flare to life from the corner of my eye. I watch as Ron steps out first. He dusts himself off as he walks over to us.

"Hey, Neville it's good to see you. Happy Birthday" Ron says smiling

"Thanks, Ron. It's great to see you too"I reply smiling myself

He hands me a piece of parchment."You need to read it so that when Hayley steps out you will be able to see behind the charm" He says.

I nod as I read it before handing it to my grandmother. She hands it back to Ron after she is done.

As he takes it back the fireplace flames to life and Hermione steps out.

She walks over to us."Happy Birthday Neville" She says

"Thank you, Hermione"I reply

They hand the butterbeer crates and their presents for Hayley from their pockets to my grandmother to take them up to my bedroom before Hayley sees them.

Just as she walks away Hayley steps out of the Floo. She brushes herself off smiling at me.

"Hey Neville Happy Birthday," Hayley says giving me a hug.

"Thank you, Hayley," I say grinning at the three of them.

"Come on were going to go through to the sitting room to open presents before going to the patio for lunch," I say showing them through to the sitting room.

The Longbottom Manor was fairly large similar to most pureblood manors but wasn't as extravagant or overly elegant like the Malfoys. The manor was painted in light blue tones that made it feel cosy and homey. The sitting room had a few sofas and chairs around the room but where the Malfoy's were large and ornate all facing inwards, The Longbottom's faced the long front wall with a large central fireplace and large glass windows on either side looking out into the gardens. In front of the sofas was a table with a number of presents on.

Hayley (POV)

As we all sit down in the sitting room the three of us put our own presents for Neville on the table. Before Nevile starts on his presents Mrs Longbottom turns to me."Hayley dear you look much different from the last time I saw you. You have cut your hair"She comments

I smile at her."Yes, Mrs Longbottom, I had it done about a week and a half ago" I say

"Well, it looks very nice. I bet it is much easier to maintain and control now it's much shorter?"She asks

"Yes it is much easier"I agree

Once our conversation has ended she turns to Neville handing him one of the presents from the table."Here you go Neville"She smiles

He got some new robes, a Herbology book and a cage for Trevor from his grandmother, herbology robes and a few plants from his Great- Uncle Algie and Great-Aunt Enid. He loved the gloves from Hermione and admitted that his current ones were starting to get old and weren't very effective at keeping the heat out. Ron gave him the sweets and arm holster and was surprised that Ron had remembered that he had told them about his new wand. As his grandmother handed him the final two presents on the table he unwrapped them smiling. He looks at them before turning to me slightly awed.

"I had been looking at these just a few weeks ago and was going to ask my grandmother if I could get them next time we were in Diagon Alley," He said grinning happily

"I had seen you looking at them in Flourish and Blotts and knowing that it was your birthday in a few weeks I got them for you" I explained to him.

"Hayley thank you. But you shouldn't have got me these. They were really expensive" He told me a blush forming

"Neville it was no trouble. As I've told Ron and Hermione in the past I have more money than I know what to do with. So why shouldn't I treat my friends that deserve it"I say honestly

He smiles."Really thank you"

He puts all of his opened presents back onto the table for now and his grandmother looks at us."Well since Neville has finished opening his presents I suggest we go out onto the patio for lunch"

We all stand up and head outside to the patio where there is a lovely lunch waiting.

About an hour later the 4 of us have gone up to Neville's room. We get up there and sot on the floor talking about various things for a while and I told him what I was planning to do about my guardian situation.

Sometime later Neville takes a box from under his bed before looking at me."Hayley even though I know that it is supposed to be my birthday celebrations but the three of decided that since we won't be able to be with you tomorrow, we thought that we would celebrate it with you today"

"Happy early birthday,"The three of them said together

"Guys this is great thank you. It really means a lot"I say to them grinning widely

Neville pushes the large box over to me and I smile as I take the lid off. I immediately see 2 large crates of butterbeer and I look at them curiously."Who is the butterbeer from?"

"That was from Tom and my grandmother. She ordered one large crate from Tom for us to share and he said that he would give us an extra one to count as a present from him"Neville explains

"Well, I will thank them later on,"I say as I continue looking through the box.

I open one of the packages seeing a selection of sweets from Ron.

"Sorry it isn't much Hayley"Ron blushes

"You got me chocolate frogs and sugar quills. These are my favourites" I say happily

He smiles at me.

I open up Hermione's seeing that it is a selection of jewellery. Finding a fairly large package I pull it out curiously. I open it finding a broom care kit and 4 different coloured thermal undershirts, in red, lilac, blue and black. I look up in confusion and before I get the chance to ask Ron explains."Its a joint present from the Gryffindor Quidditch team"

"I love it, Ron will you tell the twins that I said thank you?"I ask him

"Of course I will," Ron says

I pull out the final present knowing it must be from Neville. Opening it I found that it was a plain black shoulder bag with the Gryfinndor crest on the front. Neville explained that it had specific compartments for my books and various types of stationery/equipment.

"Neville It's great. I love it. It'll make keeping all of my things organised so much easier"I say

"I thought that and I know that your trying to get better at staying organised especially with your school work. So I thought it would work great" He says.

After a few more hours we all started to head home. Ron and Hermione Floo'd straight back to the Burrow and I Floo'd back to the Leaky Cauldron.

After exiting the floo I went over to Tom smiling. I thanked him for the butterbeer and he waved it off saying it was nothing. I went up to my room and managed to cover a further three chapters in both books before quickly becoming tired and going to bed opting against setting an alarm allowing myself to sleep in later than usual.

Waking up to a series of tapping on my window I glanced over, seeing 3 different owls with letters and packages waiting on the windowsill. I sat up in bed grabbing my glasses off of the bedside table taking in the time on my clock. _"10:20. That's not too bad. It's a lie in and I still have time to get some breakfast"_ I think to myself.

Getting out of bed, quickly getting dressed and brushing my hair, I walked over to my window opening it up untieing the letters and taking the packages putting them on my desk before giving them a few treats and water. As they took off without waiting for a response I left the letters and gifts until after breakfast.

Walking downstairs I was surprised to see that it was completely empty. Walking over to the front of the bar seeing Tom cleaning glasses I gave him a curious look. "Morning Tom"

"Morning Hayley. Happy Birthday" Tom says

"Thank you, Tom. How come it's completely empty?"I ask

"I'm not too sure. I've had a few people use the Floo to go through to the Alley though"He shrugs

I nod.

"Do you want some breakfast, Hayley?" Tom asks

"Yes please, Tom. I'll have my usual and some orange juice please"I say getting out my money.

"It's on the house today Hayley. It's your birthday after all" He tells me

"You don't have to that Tom"I deny

"I know I don't but you deserve it," Tom says smiling

"Thank you, Tom,"I say genuinely as I sit down.

Towards the end of my meal, I notice that the pub is slowly starting to fill up. I quickly finish and go upstairs to my room. Sitting at my desk I start to open the letters that had been delivered that morning. I opened the first one seeing that it was a short letter from Remus saying Happy Birthday and that he hoped I was okay. The package was a set of three quills. The next one was from the Weasleys. The package was a scarf and jumper set both in green. The final letter and gift were from Sirius. Opening it quickly I read through the letter.

" _Dear Hayley,_

 _Happy Birthday._

 _Sorry I haven't written to you yet. I have been going from one place to another very rarely spending more than a week in the same place. I am currently staying in my old family home but won't be here very long. I am only here to go through everything and to put the dark magic objects in storage. Once I am done I will be moving to Potter Manor which was where I stayed after I ran away from home. I have invited Remus to stay with me too. I saw in the Daily Prophet that there was an attack on the Dursleys but was relieved when it said that you weren't present at the time. I can understand why you haven't told anyone where you are except probably for Hermione and Ron, but I would feel more comfortable if I knew where you were. I am not worried that you are acting foolishly because I know that you are sensible and act much more like Lily than you do James._

 _I hope you like your present. It is a pendant necklace that will detect various charm/hexes/curses and potions that are intended to cause harm to yourself or act against your will. It is invisible to others but will warn you that an article of clothing or food has been compromised by becoming warm. It will also block all mildly aggressive/defensive spells/curses and hexes._

 _I hope to see you soon_

 _Lot's of love from your Dogfather_

 _Padfoot"_

Smiling I put the letter down on the side and unwrapped the necklace. Admiring the beautiful emerald stone in the centre of the pendant before securing it at the back of my neck.

Looking at the time and deciding that I had enough time to reply to the letters before I had to go to Gringotts I started to write out my letters. Writing to the Weasley's first I thanked them for the gifts and assured them all once again that I was safe and declined the offer to stay with them at the moment.

Doing a similar thing with Remus I finally got on to writing my reply to Sirius.

 _"Dear Padfoot,_

 _Thank you for the letter and I especially like the pendant. Do not worry that you haven't written before now. I am just glad to know that you are safe and are finally getting settled. It is nice to know that Remus will hopefully be staying with you and that neither of you will be alone. You are right in the assumption that Ron and Hermione know where I am and I have been talking to them on a regular basis. I have also been becoming much better friends with Neville Longbottom. The 4 of us spent the day together yesterday at Neville's home to celebrate both of our birthdays. I am currently staying at the Leaky Cauldron. Dumbledore and McGonagall already came to ask Tom if he had seen me but he had already agreed that he wouldn't tell anyone that I was staying there. The reason for this sudden change was that just before he left, Remus told me that he could tell that I was holding back in my studies and that I didn't have to do that just on account of somebody else. After thinking about it for a while I made the decision to change my electives and was granted permission to do that on the provision that I take and pass the end of year exams for those two subjects at the ministry before returning to Hogwarts in September. I wasn't intending to stay in the Leaky Cauldron until I was warned of the attack. I quickly packed my things and left. Since then I have stayed in the Leaky Cauldron. I know that I cannot stay here forever but I have planned that as I am now 14 I can now change my magical guardian legally and no one can interfere provided that my choice is a viable option. I haven't decided yet but I have a few ideas and am meeting my account manager at Gringott's to discuss them later today._

 _Lots of Love_

 _Hayley"_

Feeling satisfied with the letters I fold them putting them into envelopes and sending Hedwig off with them. Knowing that it was now nearing the time of my meeting with Vinclaw. Leaving the pub and heading through the bustling alley. I headed up the stairs of the bank bowing my head to the Goblin guards at the door.

After a few moments of speaking to a teller in the main lobby area, I was taken to Vinclaw's office.

As we had discussed Vinclaw had a long sheet of blank parchment out on his desk. Once I was seated we talked for a few moments before beginning. I presented my hand and he carefully pricked my pinkie finger and told me to let a drop of blood fall into the centre of the parchment. After a few moments, a series of lines and names began to appear on the parchment in black ink. Soon the names stopped showing up. Vinclaw looked at the parchment and thought to himself.

"I am going to write down a few suggestions of people who would be a good choice as guardian but of course the choice is completely yours."He writes a few names onto a piece of parchment before putting both pieces of parchment into a large envelope.

"Once you have decided you can bring the envelope back to Gringott's and hand them to a teller and they will be passed on to me. I will then contact your chosen guardians and invite them to Gringott's to meet you"He explains handing me the envelope.

"Thank you Goblin Vinclaw," I say standing up

"You are most welcome Miss Potter,"He tells me

Arriving back I quickly go up to my room, sitting at my desk and opening the envelope taking out the lineage test. As I had suspected there weren't any unknown magical relatives on my mum's side so I switched to looking at my father's side. I quickly noticed that although my dad didn't have any siblings and his parents had also died, my dad did have a number of aunt's and uncles a few of whom were still alive. I was quite surprised to see that my dad was distantly related to the Blacks and by extension the Malfoys. It got me thinking that if they knew about the relationship then it could explain why Lucius was so worried and concerned when he found out about the attack plan. Continuing to look I saw that Narcissa not only had one sister but two. One called Andromeda who was married to someone called Ted Tonks and had a daughter called Nymphadora.

Seeing that there weren't many other living relatives I started to think about all of my options. Noticing that it was nearing lunchtime I decided to take a break and get something to eat.

Going downstairs and ordering some lunch waiting while Tom sorted my drink.

"Tom do you know the Tonks at all?"I ask

"Yeah lovely people Ted's Muggle-born and works in the muggle world. Andromeda works part-time at St Mungo's and their daughter Nymphadora is an Auror - in training. Why do you ask?" Tom explains handing over my drink

"A lineage test said that their distant relatives and as you know I'm deciding on new magical guardians,"I say

He nods understanding.

"Well if you do decide to have the Tonks as your guardians, you will be in perfect hands," He says

"Thanks, Tom,"I say taking my drink over to my usual corner table to wait for my meal

After spending a few hours studying 3 more chapters in the textbooks satisfied that I now only had 7 more chapters in each book meaning that I would easily have everything covered by the end of the week at the very latest. After arranging my notes on my desk I looked down at the lineage test trying to make up my mind.

That evening as I was still unable to make up my mind about my guardian choice, I made sure that my summer assignments were all correct and done to the best that I could do. Rather than doing any more studying that night I decided to read a few of the muggle books that I had purchased to give myself something to do. Once I started to get tired I put my book away after marking my page with a bookmark before getting ready for bed. Once in bed, I fell asleep quite quickly almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

 **Authors Note - Hey everyone, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It is the longest one so far. Please don't hesitate to leave a review about what you thought. We will be going to Hogwarts very soon and I am going to adding a number of OC's and if you would like for your character to be featured please drop me a PM with your OC's bio. I am also aware that according to JK Rowling on Potter it is never quite explained if The Potters are directly related to The Malfoy's but for the purpose of my story they are related through James's mother.**

 **Also, I have a little poll for you all. Please leave a review with whether you want the Quidditch World cup to be covered in the next chapter or not.**


	6. Chapter 6 - Changes

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet. I know that I said that I would usually upload on a Wednesday or a Thursday but I got this chapter finished earlier than expected so rather than waiting another day I decided to post it. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognize it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

Waking up I saw that it was still quite early even for me and knowing that I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now I decided to do something productive and continue to study my textbooks.

Because I had woken up at five in the morning by the time I realised it was now ten and I was getting hungry I had somehow managed to complete the remaining 7 chapters in each book. I smiled as I felt that I could actually manage to pass both exams.

While I was eating breakfast I decided that it was time to make up my mind about who I should have as my guardians. By the time I had finished eating I had firmly made up my mind. Once finished I went upstairs to write a short letter to Vinclaw about who I wanted as my guardians before putting the letter back in the envelope with the lineage test. Curiosity peaking I looked at Vinclaw's suggestion for my guardian that he had originally written and was glad to see that it was the Tonk's. I was also glad that I had restrained myself enough to not look at it until I had made up my mind.

Making sure that I was ready I swiftly left the pub and made my way up the alley towards Gringott's. Going inside I went over to the nearest available teller."This needs to go to my account manager" I say handing him the envelope and my vault key.

The goblin nods and puts the envelope in a pile with other letters."I will make sure it reaches him"He says

"Thank you,"I say smiling as he hands me my key back

When I arrived back in my room I saw an owl waiting with a letter attached. Taking the letter and unfolding it I smiled seeing that it was from Remus.

 _"Dear Hayley,_

 _I am glad that you like the set of quills for your birthday and Sirius told me that he is happy that you liked the pendant. I had suggested to him that with the amount of trouble that you find yourself in, it would definitely be useful. He would have written himself but he is wanting to keep a low profile until we are at Potter Manor._ _We are well on the way with sorting through the items at his family home and should be moved into Potter Manor permanently by the end of the week. Sirius also told me to tell you that even if you do decide to find yourself, new guardians, that you will always be welcome to stay with us whenever you like. I also have some great news. I have gotten myself a new job at Obscurus Books in Diagon Alley. The owner is aware of my condition but is not bothered by it due to his uncle being one too. The pay is good and the other two staff members are kind and friendly. Sirius told me that his account manager Vintooth is aware of his innocence but due to the ever poor relationship between Goblins and the Ministry they are unable to do anything about it. This means that he has access to his vaults and that I didn't need a job but I know that I would go crazy without something to occupy my time with. Sirius has said that if you would like you can come and spend the day at the manor tomorrow as we are taking a break from sorting. You can also invite your friend to come if you wish as Sirius says that he is interested in meeting the Weasley Twins to give them some prank ideas and tips. We will be returning to the Manor from Grimmauld Place at around nine o clock so anytime after that will be fine._

 _Looking forward to seeing you_

 _Be safe_

 _Remus and Padfoot"_

Setting the letter down as I thought that it would be nice to see them both of them and the look on Fred and George's faces when they met two out of 4 of the marauders would be priceless.

Making my mind up to invite them as well as Hermione, Ron and Neville I thought inside my head.

 _"Hey guys, how are you all?"_ I say

 _"I'm good thanks, Hayley, how are you?"_ Neville responds

" _Hey, Hayley. I and Ron are okay. He might not respond as he's currently playing Quidditch with his brothers. How are you?"Hermione says_

 _"I'm okay thanks, guys. That's fine Hermione. I was wondering if you guys are busy tomorrow?"_ I ask them both

" _No how come?"_ Neville asks

 _"I don't think we are Hayley why do you ask?"_ Hermione says

I tell them about the letter from Remus and Sirius glad that I had explained the situation with Sirius to Neville earlier during the summer.

 _"I would like that Hayley and I should be able to go. I will just have to tell my grandma that we are spending the day in Diagon Alley and I should be allowed._ "Neville says

 _"I and Ron should be able to come. We will do the same thing as Neville and it shouldn't be a problem especially if the twins are with us. We will make sure they explain everything to them later"_ Hermione says.

The visit to see Sirius and Remus at Potter Manor came and went. The twins had been so excited that they were meeting two of the Marauders that they were speechless for what was the first time in their lives. They couldn't believe that Remus who had taught them for a whole year was a marauder and they had absolutely no idea.

Despite the day supposed to be relaxing and fun, Hermione had insisted that she quiz me on the textbooks to ensure that I was completely prepared for the exams were soon coming up.

It was about 4 days later when I got a letter from Vinclaw saying that the Tonks had replied to his letter saying that they would love to meet me before going ahead with filing the required paperwork. We had arranged to have the meeting at Gringotts on Sunday the 8th at eleven o'clock, giving me two days to try and get over my nerves and fear that they wouldn't like me. I had written to Sirius asking him about the Tonks as he and Andromeda were cousins. He had reassured me that they were very nice and friendly which helped me to calm my nerves somewhat.

Sunday morning I woke up feeling quite nervous but also very excited. I got myself ready for the day making sure that to wear something smart. Despite knowing that I really should get something to eat I was so nervous that I had almost no appetite at all. With that in mind, I decided to only get something small. Going downstairs I ordered some orange juice and two slices of toast and jam. Sitting in my usual corner I ate slowly trying to kill as much time as possible before I had to leave giving myself less time to work myself up into a nervous wreck. Once finished I ran back upstairs to grab a jacket because despite it being the beginning of August it was quite cold. Heading back down while putting my jacket on and zipping it up I left the pub and walked slowly through the Alley heading towards the bank.

Arriving at the bank I explained to a teller that I had a meeting with my account manager. After confirming my identity I was on my way to Vinclaw's office. Standing outside taking a breath gathering every ounce of my courage I knocked on the door hesitantly opening the door.

A few hours later I was back in my room at the Leaky Cauldron reflecting on my meeting with the Tonks. Sirius and Tom's reassurances that they would be really friendly were true. All three of them had been lovely and I got along really well with Nymphadora. Her reaction to her full name was hilarious and I swear that I had been able to detect a small smile on Vinclaw's face. She had told me to either call her Tonks or Dora. She told me that she had just recently finished training to become an auror and that she would start as a fully trained auror in a week. Ted was also really friendly. He was quite reserved and quiet and was more than happy to let his wife and daughter lead the conversation. Andromeda was very kind reminding me of Mrs Weasley in that respect but was also proper and had a professional vibe to her reminding me very much of Mrs Longbottom.

After the meeting had finished and the paperwork was ready to be filed within the next few days we went out for some lunch. At the end of the meal, we had arranged that I would move in with them at the end of the week so that not only did they have time to get my room ready it went that I had a chance to get all of my things packed. Knowing that it wouldn't take me too long to get everything packed I knew that I could leave it for a few days.

The rest of the week passed uneventfully and before I knew it Friday morning had arrived. I woke up much earlier than normal not sure whether it was due to nerves or excitement. I packed away the last few items that I had left out before locking my trunk and putting it next to my door along with the suitcase that I had bought after getting rid of my old worn duffel bag from the Dursleys. Once everything was done I sat on my bed until I heard a knock on the door. Opening it I smiled seeing that it was Dora. She shrunk my suitcase and trunk down putting them in her pocket. Going downstairs I saw Ted talking to Tom. After handing my key back to Tom I turned to Dora."Where's your mum?"I say as I had noticed that she wasn't there.

"Mum was called into work this morning as they urgently needed her to cover someone's shift. She said that she will be back in time for lunch though"Dora explains to me

We soon left using the floo to travel to the Tonk's home. Luckily my exit of the fireplace wasn't nearly as bad as Dora's and so I avoided looking like a fool for now. Looking around I noticed that it was very homely but also looked fairly modern and elegant. Dora showed me the house ending with my room. Opening the door for me I looked around quickly a huge grin forming as I stepped further inside. They had somehow managed to decorate the room in light blues and greens which were my favourite colours. They had also put up a Puddlemere United poster above my bed. The bedroom window looked out onto the large garden with a patio area. Dora helped me to unpack my things from my trunk and suitcase. She helped me to unpack my books by placing them on the bookcase that was next to my wardrobe. Taking the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes books from the trunk and placing them on my desk with my stationery noticing the curious look on her face. "Why are you reading the third year textbooks?"She asks me confused

"I took Divination and Care of Magical Creatures as my third-year electives but at the beginning of summer, I asked if I could change to Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. I was told that I could either take the third year exams at the end of summer or start the third year curriculum in 4th year with the current third years. So I chose to take the exams at the end of summer" I explained to her

"When are your exams then?"Dora asks

"I take the exams on Friday the 20th of August and I get my results back a week later,"I say remembering the information

"Well good luck I'm sure you'll do great"Dora says smiling at me"

"Thanks, Dora. I hope so"I say slightly nervously.

During the last week between then and my exams, I made sure to keep reviewing my notes as much as possible and taking the practice quizzes numerous times. Andromeda and Ted let me as they knew that it was important to me but also made sure that I took plenty of breaks and got enough sleep. When Tonks wasn't working she made sure that I had some fun by taking me shopping. Four days before my exams the guardianship papers were filed and by the next day, the news was all over the Ministry and by extension the press. There was no news of Dumbledore trying to repeal the change in guardians but there was also no contact from him which was something that we hadn't expected. The same day we had gone to Vinclaw who took the charm off of me and to avoid being mobbed by people in the alley we apparated straight there and back home again.

On the day of my exam, Andy had made blueberry pancakes for breakfast in the morning which had quickly become my favourite breakfast that she would make. Because my first exam was at nine o'clock in the morning Dora escorted me to the ministry for my Ancient Runes exam. I left my communication ring at home for the exam after Neville, Ron and Hermione had wished me luck. I had anticipated a lot of stares from people but Dora made sure that anyone who even looked at me for too long was given a very deathly glare.

Once the first exam was over after 90 minutes I left the exam room finding that Dora was waiting to take me to my Arithmancy exam. The Arithmancy exam was slightly longer at 120 minutes. After finishing I was glad when Dora was waiting for me to take me home. When I got home I was so mentally exhausted that as soon as I entered my bedroom I immediately flopped into bed to sleep.

 **Authors Note - Hello everyone. Yes, I know that chapter is much shorter than previous ones I apologise. I was suffering some major writer's block and was procrastinating a lot. I decided to not include the Quidditch World Cup. I was going to include it in the next chapter but I decided against it. Once again a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me and this story by reading, reviewing and following/favouriting.**


	7. Chapter 7 - Back to Hogwarts

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not OC inot this and future chapters belongs to RavenclawPotter666.**

Hayley(POV)

The first few days after the news broke about my guardian change I tried to stay in as much as possible to avoid any press that was about. I had been in Diagon Alley with Neville and the Weasley gang buying the remaining school supplies that I hadn't already gotten. For me, it was just my books and extra parchment and ink, for Neville it was his books and robes, The Weasleys had left everything until last minute again so a lot of the time was spent getting their supplies. We had just exited Gringott's after getting our money from our vaults and we had been approached by a photographer who had attempted to take photos of me. Mr and Mrs Weasley were about to intervene when I walked up to him took his camera and threw it on the ground flashing him the most innocent smile I could manage before walking off.

Since then the press had decided to leave me alone completely. There was still the occasional article written but I mostly ignored them. It was now the 27th of August and I had woken up early due to nerves. My exam results were being sent out today and I was extremely anxious. I just didn't want all of my hard work to have been for nothing.

About 2 hours later I smelled the familiar scent of Andy's blueberry pancakes. Forcing myself to get dressed I headed downstairs to see Andy plating up the first batch of pancakes. Ted was there but Dora wasn't. She was still sleeping as she had the day off and usually liked to sleep in whenever she got the chance. As I sat down I saw that the post still hadn't arrived and so I started to eat my pancakes trying to take my mind off the results. About 30 minutes later Dora came downstairs looking happily at the pancakes. Pouring herself some orange juice she started to eat her pancakes. 10 minutes later I heard an owl tapping at the window and shooting out of my seat I raced over. Taking the letter from the owl becoming even more nervous as I recognised the ministry's wax seal on the back. Going back to my seat I carefully broke the seal before the letter from the envelope. Taking a breath I unfolded the letter as I scanned through the first page before picking up the second page from the table. Looking at my results I had had a huge grin on my face as I looked back up seeing the expectant faces of Dora, Ted and Andy.

"Exceeds Expectations for Arithmancy and Outstanding in Ancient Runes,"I say happily

"That's great news, Hayley," Ted says

"Well done Hayley,"Dora says ruffling my hair playfully

"Congratulations," Andy says

"Thanks, guys,"I say happily

5 days later I was saying goodbye to Andy and Ted on Platform 9and 3 quarters. Sadly Dora couldn't be there to see me off as she was working today but they had said there goodbyes at breakfast before she left apparating to the ministry. I was there a little bit earlier in order to get a compartment. Ted levitated my trunk onto the overhead luggage compartment before coming back onto the platform to say goodbye. Andy handed me some savoury snacks in a small bag so that I didn't eat only sweets. They left after saying goodbye and I got settled in the compartment. About 10 minutes later Neville knocked on the compartment door. Gesturing him to come in she levitated his trunk up on top of hers knowing that she wouldn't need anything that was in it. They talked for another 10 minutes before Hermione knocked on the door.

As she came in she gave me a hug and looked at me."Hey Hayley. Rons outside with his mum he should be done soon" She says levitating her trunk next to mine and Neville's.

After about another 5 minutes Ron came into our compartment with his trunk putting on top of Hermione's. Sitting down we all sit and begin to talk about the upcoming year as we felt the train start to pull out of the station.

After about half an hour after the train had left Kings Cross, there was a knock on the compartment door. Gesturing for the boy to come in Hayley looked at him. He had short platinum blonde hair that was semi-messy. He had silvery blue eyes and was wearing Ravenclaw house robes. One of the most striking features about the boy was the scar that was above and below his left eye. Coming in he looked at them slightly nervous."Hello, I was wondering if I could sit in here. My cousin and her friend are both girls and they started talking about girly things so I made a quick exit"He explained.

Smiling I nod."Yeah sure take a seat" I said with a smile

"Thank you. My names Cyrus by the way. Cyrus Lovegood" He says as he took a seat on the same side as Hermione and Ron.

"It's nice to meet you, Cyrus, I'm Hayley Potter,"I say as the others follow my lead and introduce themselves.

Ron looks at him for a moment and my mind instantly worries that he is going to mention Cyrus's scar."Is your cousin Luna?"He asks

"Yes, she is.I'm a year older than her,"He says looking over towards Ron

"She's friends with my sister Ginny,"He says smiling

"I thought your name sounded familiar," Cyrus says shaking his hand.

"So Cyrus what electives do you take?"I ask him politely

"Arithmancy and Ancient about you?"He explains before asking me the same question

"I take those two as well. I took Care of Magical Creatures and Divination last year but over the summer I decided to change electives" I explained.

For the rest of the journey, the 5 of us talked and got to know Cyrus better and vice versa. About an hour before we were due to arrive at Hogsmeade station I got up and went to the bathroom to change into my uniform. Hermione had gone to talk to Ginny and Luna letting the boys change in peace. On my way back I came across the compartment that Draco was in. He gave me a silent gesture for me to hold up. I moved out of the way of the window so his friends wouldn't see. He came out after a few moments and we went into the next compartment that was surprisingly empty.

"Congratulations on passing the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes exams," He says smirking

I look up at him slightly shocked."How did you know?"

"Potter my father has sources all over the ministry it wasn't exactly that hard to find out,"He says with a slight smirk on his face

Shaking my head exasperated I look up at him smiling,"Whatever thank you Malfoy"I say

After talking for a few moments we say goodbye and I head back to my compartment. Getting back I notice that the boys have changed and that Hermione must still be with Ginny and Luna. Fairly soon Hermione comes back and tells Cyrus that Luna wants to talk with him.

After he is gone the four of us continue to talk amongst ourselves. About another 40 minutes, the train starts to slow down as it pulls into Hogsmeade Station. Getting off the 4 of us head toward the carriages. Hermione, Ron, Neville and I get into a carriage and Cyrus gets into the next one with Luna and Ginny. After we arrive at the school and disembark the carriages we once again meet up with Cyrus, Ginny and Luna. We say goodbye to Cyrus and tell him that we will see him in class tomorrow and Ginny does the same with Luna. From there we split off into two groups as we enter the Great Hall. Cyrus and Luna sit down at the Ravenclaw table and the rest of us head towards the Gryffindor table.

Once everyone had taken their seats and everything had settled down the sorting hat was placed at the front of the hall while Professor McGonagall left to retrieve the first years from the entrance hall. As they began to file in I saw the wonder o their faces and smiled remembering how awed and amazed I had been when seeing the Great Hall for the first time. The next thing I noticed was that the year group seemed to be bigger than our own. There seemed to be, from just a quick glance, around 50 or 60 students whereas our own had been significantly smaller with only 40 students.

As the students proceeded to be sorted I didn't particularly pay much attention to specific names and where they were sorted. At the end of it, they were 15 sorted into Hufflepuff,14 sorted into Ravenclaw,15 sorted into Slytherin and 16 sorted into Gryffindor. The feast soon appeared and everyone started to dig in eagerly. As soon as the feast appeared the Hall seemed to get even more animated and lively. I made sure to say thank you to the other members of the Quidditch Team for the birthday presents.

Eventually, the feast ended and Dumbledore rose out of his chair to give a speech.

"I would like to welcome all students returning and new alike. There are a few start of term notices that I need to give you all before you head off to your common rooms. The first is that once again the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students and once again I repeat that there are a number of older students who would do well to remember this"He says as he eyes twinkle looking pointedly at Fred and George both of whom look straight back with the most innocent grins that they could manage."Secondly, a list of all prohibited items can be found outside of our caretaker Mr Filch's office. Finally, the last announcement before you are all dismissed is that for this year there will be no Quidditch Cup this year"

As he made this announcement at least half of the Great Hall made their displeasure known including myself.

Eventually, Dumbledore called for quiet."The reason for this is because Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. Hogwarts will be the host of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. On October 30th a selection of the two other school will be joining us along with their headteachers. Students that meet the requirements will be allowed to enter their name for a chance to compete. One week later the Goblet of Fire will select one student from each school to be their respective school's champion to compete for the cup, a cash prize and eternal glory"

As the hall of students grew quieter processing the news Dumbledore spoke once again."Now you are all dismissed. Your respective House prefect will escort the first years"

As I began to stand up I heard the various prefects calling for their respective first years to follow them Turning away from the Head Table to follow my friends to the common room I was stopped by Professor McGonagall."Miss Potter the Headmaster and I would like to see you in the Headmasters office"She explains.

I nod and turn to say to my friends that I would see them later before turning back to Professor McGonagall. "Okay shall we go?"I say

As I head off towards Dumbledores office I think of all the possibilitissues at this meeting could be about and the most predominant idea is that he is unhappy hat I ignored his attempts to contact me over the summer as well as changing my guardians without his knowledge or permission.

 **Authors note - Yes this chapter is once again very shortly. I apologise but I have foundthat it is easier for me to do shorter chapters as we continue the school year in order to have better pacing.I would like to give a shout out to RavenclawPotter666 and ninjahamsterassassin for reviewing and giving me their bios for Original Characters.**


	8. Chapter 8 - New Friends and Fresh Starts

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine. Once again the OC'S in this chapter belong to RavenclawPotter666 and ninjahamsterassassin.**

Hayley POV

Leaving Dumbledore's office and heading back to Gryffindor Tower I was confused and angry. Apparently, Dumbledore seemed to think that even though he was now no longer my magical guardian he could still control my life. He had told me that he was concerned that I hadn't been thinking properly when I changed my guardians and that every action he has made regarding me has been with my best interests at heart. I knew that it was a polite way of saying that I am a child and so I don't know what I am doing. It's almost as if he seemed upset and maybe a little bit angry that I wasn't firmly under his control anymore but I dismissed that idea pretty quickly because Dumbledore has never been that sort of person and he just doesn't have it in him to be that controlling and manipulative.

Arriving at the tower entrance I gave the password to the portrait. "Balderdash" Watching as the portrait door swung open I stepped through smiling as I saw that Hermione, Ron and Neville were all still in the common room waiting for me no doubt wondering what the meeting was about. Sitting down next to Neville on one of the sofa's I sighed. Before they could ask what had happened I started to explain to the three of them what had gone on in the meeting.

"It makes sense why you're upset and angry. What he said was really condescending" Neville says

"I can see where he's coming from though Hayley. Going off on your own like that was quite reckless and probably not the smartest idea in the world"Hermione says

Looking at her I frowned wondering why she was taking his side in this."I thought that you would have agreed with me on this Hermione. Out of all of us, you hate being patronised and treated like you don't know what you're doing the most"I say

"Yes but not when it comes to situations where I could be in danger. The professors just have your best interests in mind and your being quite disrespectful "Hermione snaps

I look at Hermione and feel my anger growing."Hermione, I'm not apologising for being upset that I'm sick of being treated like a child who has no concept of danger"

"Well, Hayley maybe if you stopped throwing yourself into dangerous situations all the time without thinking then maybe people wouldn't treat you as much like a child"She snaps before storming off to the dorms. As I looked over to Ron and Neville I could see that they too were just as shocked as me.

After a few moments of silence, I speak up."You guys don't think I rush into things without thinking?"

"No, you don't. This summer, for example, you took the proper time to think before you decided to change your electives" Neville says to me shaking his head

"If we're being completely honest there have been a few times where you have acted without thinking. I do think that Hermione was over exaggerating a bit but Hermione is the smartest one out of us and she's usually always right so the chances are she's right about this too" Ron says

"Just because Hermione is the smartest out of us in regards to academics doesn't mean that her opinion is always right," I say not able to believe that both Ron and Hermione are against me on also makes me wonder how long they have thought this about me.

Ron sighs."Whatever asked me what I thought and I told you don't like it then that's not my problem" He says getting up and going up to his dorm

Sighing I look down at my feet and Neville gives my shoulder a comforting squeeze."I'm sure they will come round give them some space and soon enough it will be as if this entire argument never even happened"He says

"Thanks, Neville, I really hope so,"I say forcing myself to give a smile

For the rest of the evening, Neville and the members of the Quidditch team made it their mission to try and cheer me up. We talked a lot and played a multitude of card games as well as wizards chess. When I eventually went up to the dorms a few hours later I saw that Hermione had closed the curtains around her bed making it clear that she didn't want to talk to anyone. Sighing I started to unpack my trunk getting out the essentials for the next few days leaving the rest in my trunk until I could properly sort through everything.

The next morning I woke up to my alarm going off and as I groggily grabbed my glasses to turn it off I saw that I was the only one awake so far having set my alarm a little bit earlier than normal so I had time to use the shower before anyone else woke up. Getting out of bed I grabbed my toiletries and uniform and headed to the bathroom.

As I came out of the bathroom I noticed that the other girls were slowly starting to wake up. Avoiding looking at Hermione who was passing me on her way to the bathroom I sighed and began to finish getting ready. Once I was fully dressed I got my bag ready with my equipment and stationery. Glad that the bag had a feather-light and extension charm on it I was able to put all of my books in without it getting any heavier. This meant that I didn't have to rush back to the dorm after getting my timetable to grab the books that I would need for the day. I left the dorm room walking down the stairs to the common room that was mostly empty apart from a few 6th and 7th years. After noticing that Neville wasn't up yet I headed down to the Great Hall by myself.

Looking around the Great Hall that was still pretty much empty bar a few Ravenclaws and Slytherins I sat down at the table and began to get some breakfast enjoying the quiet.

Neville walked in and took a seat next to me about 30 minutes later and I had already eaten by this point and had talked to Cyrus and Luna for at least 5 minutes.

"Hey Neville,"I say once he has sat down and started to get himself some breakfast.

"Morning Hayley,"Neville says tiredly before he started to eat.

Smiling amusedly I looked around the hall. As the hall started to fill up with more and more students I noticed that the noise level was gradually getting louder. After a further 5 minutes later I saw Hermione dragging a reluctant and tired Ron into the hall before taking a seat at the other end of the table to where Neville and myself were sat at.

20 minutes before the first class was due to start the house heads started to hand out students class timetables. Glancing at my timetable I noticed that I had Charms with the Ravenclaw's first followed by Potions with the Slytherins and then Ancient Runes followed by a free period before lunch. After lunch, I had Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins, Herbology with the Hufflepuff's and as my final class of the day Arithmancy.

Neville looked at me as he stood up."Hayley, should we see if Cyrus wants to head with us to Charms with us?"

Nodding the two of grabbed our things and headed over to the Ravenclaw table where Cyrus was sitting with Luna. As he saw us coming over he smiled."Hey guys"

"Hey Cyrus, since we have Charms together do you want to head there with Neville and me?" I ask

"Yeah sure that's fine. Luna's got Herbology first anyways so she's going to head there with Ginny" Cyrus says gathering his things.

After saying goodbye to Luna the three of us left the Great Hall slowly heading up to the Charms classroom.

By the time my free period had rolled around, I was already sick of Hermione's attitude. I had tried to avoid her as much as possible to give her some space to herself but all she seemed to do whenever we were near one another was glare at me. To start with I went up to my dorm to drop off the books that I didn't need for the rest of the day. As it was only the begging of September the weather luckily wasn't too bad and was surprisingly not too cold. Grabbing my broom from my trunk I headed out to the Quidditch Pitch to do some flying due to the lack of the Quidditch cup this year. I had told Neville that I would be at the Quidditch Pitch for a bit and he said that he was going to spend some time with Seamus and Dean. Getting out there I saw that there was only one other person there closer it was a Slytherin, I knew he looked familiar but I never remembered 0laying against him in a match so I surmised that he must be a reserve member. As I got closer I noticed that he had dark brown hair, light green eyes, and quite a harsh expression. He was taller than me but I am usually shorter than most people.

He looks at me his expression a combination of wariness and disinterest but eventually, he gives me a small nod to acknowledge my presence."Hi"He says

"Hi.I'm sorry if I'm intruding,"I said awkwardly

"You're not intruding,"He says shortly

In order to escape the awkward tension that felt so thick I could probably cut it with a knife, I mounted my broom and took off starting simple with a few laps of the pitch. Finishing my laps I do some stunts and quick dives getting my heart beat faster with adrenaline.

I see that the boy has also started to fly around the pitch. He flies over to me."What position do you play?"He asks me and I notice that he seems to be much more relaxed when up in the air than what he was on the ground.

"Seeker what about you?"I reply

"Reserve Beater,"He says confirming my early assumptions

"Wanna race?"I say

"Sure"

The two of us spend a good portion of the hour racing as well as competing with practice quaffles and after about 40 minutes we both descend back down to the ground.

"So what year are in. I don't recognise you from my year?"I ask him

"I'm in 5th year. I am supposed to be in History of Magic but the class is completely pointless so I don't usually bother showing up. It's not as if Binns really even notices"He explains

"I can agree with that. I usually set a quill going taking notes for me and spent the hour doing homework for my other classes."I say "I'm a 4th year by the way" I add

Nodding it he says."Are you skipping or on a free period?"

"Free period" I reply

"I'm Hayley by the way,"I say deciding to purposefully leave my last name unsaid for now

"Declan," He says copying my decision to not include last names

Afterwards, the two of us parted ways after reaching the castle him heading down towards the Slytherin dorms and I heading up to Gryffindor Tower to shower before heading back down to the Great Hall for lunch.

Soon enough it was October 30th and that evening the two other schools competing in the Tri-Wizard Tournament would be arriving. Ron, Hermione and I had started talking again and considered each other friends but there was still quite a lot of tension between the three of us and we didn't spend nearly as much time together as we used to. I had expected to be more upset and disappointed more than I actually was. I think it was because I had other friends to spend time with so that it meant that me, Ron and Hermione didn't have to spend every minute with each other.

I had been spending more time with Neville, Cyrus and the twins too. It had turned out that Declan was actually Neville's cousin and the two of them weren't very close due to Mrs Longbottom not liking Declan's mother and thinking that she wasn't good enough for her son. It was nothing to do with her blood status or anything it was just that Mrs Longbottom was quite protective of her sons and had high standards that Selena could never seem to reach. As we spend more time together which was usually spent flying around and doing mini quidditch competitions, which Cyrus, Fred and George often joined in on, that he wasn't the most social person and was often very standoffish sometimes bordering on mean.

I had also researched the history of the Tri-Wizard tournament finding a book about it in the library and was extremely appaled that the ministry would allow the tournament to be held at all due to the dangerous nature of the tasks as well as the amounts of deaths and injuries that were caused from the tasks. It immediately made me glad that there was an age limit on the tournament and that it was typically reserved for students above the age of 17.

That evening before the feast started the two schools arrived, both of them entering in a stylish and slightly over the top manner that reflected the nature of there schools. The Beuxbatons entrance being very elegant, fancy and poised while the Durmstang entrance was very action filled, masculine and serious.

Two of the house tables had been extended to accommodate the extra students with the Beauxbaton students sat at the Ravenclaw table while the Durmstrang students sitting at the Slytherin table. After the Feast had ended, Dumbledore introduced Bartemius Crouch who was the Head of International Magical Cooperation as well as Ludovic Bagman who was the Head of Magical Games and Sports. Crouch gave everyone more information about the tournament including the age limit which gained almost as much negative response as when Dumbledore announced that there would be no Quidditch this year. Other topics included the rules, when the champions would be selected and what the winner would receive as a prize.

That evening I went to bed excited that maybe for the first time since joining Hogwarts I might actually get to have a normal year without either having to get involved with something dangerous or facing against Voldemort in some form.

 **Authors Note - Hello Everyone. I hope you are enjoying the story and I really hoped that you liked the chapter. I don't think anyone expected the argument between Hayley, Ron and Hermione. If any of you think that it is too out of character for them think about it realistically. The three of them are all 14. They are teenagers and are going through puberty and so arguments between friends are common. Besides up until Order of the Phoenix Hermione's belief is that teachers and authority figures are usually always right so this would definitely be something that she would argue about. Shout out to ninjahamsterassassin for writing the bio for Declan and remember if you want to see your own original character to appear in the story all you have to is Review and PM me the bio.**


	9. Chapter 9 - Champions

_Taking_ _Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine. Many characters will be OOC. Once again thank you to RavenclawPotter666 and ninjahamsterassassin.**

Hayley POV

During the week between the other two schools arriving and when the champions would be picked passed by uneventful minus the twins attempting to outwit Dumbledore's age line around the cup with a simple ageing potion resulting in the two of them looking like old men for 4 hours. The people that entered their names into the cups were mostly people that I didn't know or even recognise but there were a few that I did know. I recognised Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff, Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, Cassius Warrington from Slytherin and Felicity Andres from Gryffindor. I had written to my family several times and Dora had told me that she had been assigned as one of the Aurors to stay at Hogwarts for the year to act as security during the tasks. She told me in one of her letters that along with a group of 3 other Aurors she would be arriving on the day that the champions get chosen. Despite writing each other at least 3 times a week I had missed her a lot and was beyond excited for her to get here.

After dinner that evening the tables and benches were removed from the Hall and were replaced with bleacher style seats that lined both walls. Many students chose this opportunity to mix with friends from different houses. I sat with Neville, Cyrus, Luna, Ron and Hermione while Declan remained on the other side with the Slytherins. I saw him talking to one of the Durmstrang boys. I had seen the two of them talking a few times during the week and I was pleased that Declan had found someone that he might be able to consider a friend.

Dumbledore used a form of wandless magic to dim the flames of all the candles in the Great Hall to create atmosphere and despite my annoyance, at him, I had to admit that I was impressed. He walked over to the Goblet and I watched as the flames roared high spitting out a small piece of parchment that was charred around the edges. It seemed as though the entire hall had leaned forward in anticipation as Dumbledore plucked it from the air reading over the name. "The Durmstrang Champion is Viktor Krum!"

The whole hall clapped as Viktor stood up and walked over to Dumbledore taking his parchment paper along with a handshake and heading through a door just off of the head table to presumably where the champions would all meet after being chosen and be given further instructions. Once he had left the Goblet roared spitting out another piece of parchment."The Beuxbatons champion is Fleur Delacour!" The hall cheered once again and Fleur followed Krum's actions of taking her piece of parchment before going through the same door. The entirety of the Hogwarts student body was silent in anticipation as Dumbledore caught the final parchment. "And the Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!"At this, the hall once again erupted into cheers but there was a large segment of cheers which was clearly where many Hufflepuff's had chosen to sit. As Cedric stood up to follow the other champions I noticed Dora smiling wasn't surprising as she had been a Hufflepuff while at doubt she would have supported whoever the Hogwarts champion had been but the champion being from her previous house made her even happier.

Once Cedric had left the hall Dumbledore turned to address the whole hall. "Well there we have our three champions," Dumbledore says. Before he is able to continue speaking the Goble started to flame up once again this time even higher, brighter and slightly more aggressive. Snape, McGonagall and the other school heads stood out of their seats slightly all seeming puzzled. Before anyone can ask what is going on the Goblet spits out the fourth piece of parchment. It takes Dumbledore a few seconds more than the others to pluck it from the air appearing just as confused as the other teachers. Looking at the name on the parchment the twinkle in his eyes dims and he looks up. He whispers the name inaudibly before repeating it again this time much louder shocking the whole hall but none more than myself.

"Hayley Potter!" He says sounding a mixture of shock, anger and confusion.

I was looking at him in a state of utter shock and disbelief. I didn't even know people were whispering to me until I felt Neville and Cyrus gently nudge me bringing me back to reality. In a daze, I walked up towards Dumbledore to collect the parchment. I looked towards Dora as Dumbledore handed me the charred parchment that had my name on. She gave me a look of confusion but of anger and worry. I knew that the anger wasn't towards me but to whoever had tampered with the goblet to make it spit out not only a fourth name but my name too. Reaching the door I heard the other students shouting variations of _"She's a cheat"_ and _"She's not even 17"_

Just before I headed through the door Professor McGonagall puts a comforting hand on my shoulder for a few seconds trying to reassure me and I noticed that Snape gave me a small nod with an expression on his face that I couldn't quite read. It almost looked like pity and maybe even concern. I headed through the door taking a shaky breath to steady myself mentally preparing myself for whatever was about to come next.

Once I reached the room where the other champions were waiting they all turned to look at me immediately wondering why I was there. They noticed the parchment in my hand and the expression on my face and they all realised that I had also been chosen despite being too young and the fact that Hogwarts already had a champion. As I went over to stand against a wall on my own I noticed Cedric flash me a small smile and I attempted to give him one back. He walked over."Judging from your expression am I right to assume that you didn't enter your name?"He says kindly

Nodding I show him the parchment."It's not even my handwriting. Mines not as neat" I sigh

"I bet you thought that this year might have been a chance to get away from all of the crazy things that seem to happen to you?"He smiles

"This is just confirming my theory that someone has it in for me and that they delight in seeing me put in dangerous situations,"I say trying to make light of the situation.

It works and I get a small chuckle from Cedric. While the two of us are talking I notice Fleur and Viktor have walked closer to the two of us."You didn't enter?"Fleur asks me

I shake my head."Nope even if I was old enough I wouldn't have. I really don't need any more eternal glory or the danger that comes with the tournament."I say

The two of them nod and look thoughtful more a few moments."I believe you" She says

"I do too," Viktor says

I find myself smiling at the two of them."Thank you it's really good to know that at least some people believe me. I have a feeling not many people up there do"I say gesturing towards the stairs.

Before any of us can say anything else on the subject a number of angry voices could be heard getting closer. I sighed as I saw McGonagall, Snape, Dumbledore, Karkaroff, Madame Maxine, Moody, Crouch, Bagman and Crouch come down the stairs obviously in the middle of an argument. Dumbledore came straight over to me and looked me straight in the eye."Hayley, tell us did you put your name in the Goblet of fire?"He asked me calmly. ( **A/N -Emphasis on CALMLY)**

I looked at him and the others without hesitation."No, I didn't it isn't even my handwriting"

"Did you ask an older student to enter your name for you?"He asks again

I shake my head."No, I didn't. Why would I?"

He nods and looks over at the others in the room with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"It is obvious that the girl is lying,"Karkaroff says in a thick accent that was hard to pinpoint.

"I agree. There must have been some kind of mistake with the age line"Madame Maxine says looking down at me before turning to Dumbledore

"That's impossible. I know two 6th year students that tried to enter their names using an ageing potion to get around the age line and it didn't accept their parchment. Miss Potter couldn't have entered her name"Professor McGonagall says

I let a small smile grace my lips and give her a silent thank you for defending me."So what happens now. Do I have to compete?"I ask directing the question to Crouch.

He looks at me pensively."Yes, Miss Potter, I'm afraid you do. The goblet is a magically binding contract"

I nod."Okay then." I say putting on a brave face to make myself seem much calmer than I was actually feeling on the inside.

After Bagman had told us the date of the first task we were warned that it would test our daring so we wouldn't be given any more clues and we were only allowed to use our wands and that it was against the rules to ask for help from teachers. Fleur and Viktor left with their respective heads while Cedric and I headed to our respective houses. We parted ways as he headed to Hufflepuff and I walked up towards Gryffindor.

Once I arrived at the tower I gave the password and climbed through the portrait. I was met with quite a lot of cheers and claps from the Gryffindor's who thought that I had somehow messed with the Goblet and my insistence that I didn't enter my name fell on deaf ears. I saw that Ron and Hermione were stood with Neville and Ginny so I headed over.

I immediately noticed the thunderous look on Ron's face and I frowned slightly."Hey, Ron what's up?"I asked hoping that it wasn't because he thought that I had entered my name.

"You know exactly what's up, Miss fourth champion" He snaps

"Ron I didn't enter my name in that stupid goblet. Why would I?"I said

"Eternal glory, fame and a load of money. You love the attention"He says

"Ron you know for a fact that I completely hate the attention. I couldn't care less about the glory or the fame" I snap

"Whatever I would have thought that you'd have told your friends how you did it though. Did you use your cloak?"Ron says

"No, I didn't use my cloak because I didn't enter. Even if I had I wouldn't have entered because apart from Neville and Ginny neither of you have been very good friends lately. Thinking that I entered is one thing but getting annoyed that I didn't tell you something that I didn't even do is ridiculous" I say to him before walking away storming off to my dorm.

I closed the curtains around the bed before sitting on my bed and doing some of the homework assignments that I still had to do before getting ready for bed deciding to go to sleep early in order to have a good nights sleep before starting another week of school.

 **Authors Note - I know that the chapter is once again slightly shorter than previous but this will be the case for the next few chapters. Next weeks update will be posted on Saturday rather than Thursday due to going away. Also, I am going back to university in a few weeks time and most of my energy will be focused on that so instead of posting every week, I will be posting probably every two weeks. Also, I am wanting you guys to tell me what pairings you would like to see in upcoming chapters. Once again thank you to everyone reading and reviewing.**


	10. Chapter 10 - Revelations

Taking Chances and Making Changes – Chapter 10

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine. Many characters will be OOC. Once again thank you to RavenclawPotter666 and ninjahamsterassassin.**

Hayley (POV)

I expected that the reaction to my name coming out of the goblet would be quite negative due to the initial reactions from the students in the Great Hall, but I hadn't thought that it would this bad. The students in Gryffindor were quite pleased that I was a champion and didn't seem to care that I hadn't entered my name. Ron still hated me for it and ignored my constant explanations that I hadn't entered and that I didn't even want to participate. The only other person in Gryffindor that was actively hating me was Seamus and that was mostly because he was believing everything Ron was telling him. Dean and Hermione both hadn't said anything to me, so I was unsure as to where they stood but Neville, Ginny, Fred and George all believed me and agreed with me that Ron was acting this way due to jealousy.

The majority of Hufflepuff hated me because in their eyes, Hufflepuff had a chance at glory at recognition and I was taking that away. Cedric believed me and had told me that he had tried to talk to his housemates and get them to back off, but they ignored him. The Ravenclaws were taking a neutral standpoint with most of the students being uninterested BUT Cyrus and Luna were firmly on my side. The Slytherins were almost as bad as the Hufflepuffs with their taunting and bullying. Only three days after being labelled a champion one of the Slytherins made badges that would switch between " _GO CEDRIC!"_ and _"POTTER STINKS!"_. The day after people started wearing the badges Declan pulled me aside on my way to the library and apologised for how the Slytherins had been acting towards me.

I was sat upstairs in the astronomy tower alone after my final class on Friday wanting to spend some time alone. My final class had been absolute torture due to having double potions with the Slytherins. Between starting in September and becoming a champion I had enjoyed Potions quite a lot and my grades were improving. In the 5 days since becoming a champion, I have had Potions 4 times and two of those classes were double classes. I had double Potions on the Monday and Friday and single Potions on Tuesday and Thursday. All 4 times were completely awful. The Slytherins had started bullying me with standard verbal insults but once they realised that I wasn't going to retaliate they started making things physical by messing up my potions when no one was looking.

Luckily the pendant protected me from most of it and it just made a mess. Because of this, I had started to sit at the back of the class in a corner away from many of the others. Because there was an odd number of students in the class whenever we were doing work in pairs there would be one person left on their own. As we had done partner work twice in the past 5 days I made sure that I would be the odd one out to ensure that my partner wouldn't be hurt if the Slytherins messed up my potion.

I was stood leaning on the railing looking out at the Black Lake and the Forbidden Forest when Dora walked over to stand by me. Since becoming a champion I had not yet found time to talk to Dora yet as we had both been extremely busy. I had been so wrapped up in my own thoughts that it took me a moment to realise that she was even there.

"Hey," I said to her still not looking over at her just yet.

"How are you doing? "Dora asks me

Shrugging I turn to face her. "I'm okay"

She frowns as she looks at me." Are you sure? Neville told me about those badges that students have been wearing and what they say when a teacher isn't looking "She asks concerned. "He also told me that you refuse to report it the professors "She adds looking me in the eye

Sighing I look at her. "There's no point in reporting it. I'm not exactly bothered by it. They're just being silly and immature. "I say shrugging

Although she still doesn't look happy about it she nods and agrees to let it go for now. "He also told me that the Slytherins have been messing with you in class by throwing things in your potions. That's dangerous Hayley and you need to tell the professors. You can't allow it to carry on. "She says suddenly very stern.

"I know, and I'll tell Professor McGonagall after dinner this weekend. I'm fine though, my pendant protects me from most potions and spells so the worst it has ever really done is make a mess "I explain

"Good. Although I'm not happy about you being in the tournament I am glad that I'm here to keep an eye on you and give you as much help as I can. I know you're not supposed to ask for help but technically you didn't ask, and I can guarantee that Krum and Delacour are getting help from their teachers. "She says grinning

I let out a small laugh and nod. "That's fine"

"Also, I better give you a warning. As part of the tournament, there's a Yule Ball where the champions all must have a date and they open the ball with the first dance. You probably won't get told until sometime early in December, but I thought that if I told you now then you have some time to think about who you want to go with. I'll go with you nearer the time to find a dress "Dora explains

I nod groaning internally at the thought of having to go to a stupid ball and having to dance in front of everyone. "I take it that there's no way to get out of it"

Dora smiles and shakes her head. "Unfortunately not, "She says

The next day Cyrus, Neville and I were out by the black lake skipping rocks while watching the Twins using magic to mess with the Giant Squid when I saw Dora's owl Nova land next to me with a small note attached to its leg. As I untied the note I watched as it flew off back towards the tower and I unfolded the note reading in surprise that it wasn't from Dora but from Hagrid.

" _Hayley, I have something to show you, but it is important that you come alone. Come to my hut tonight straight after dinner. I will explain more tonight._

 _Hagrid"_

Frowning I folded the letter up and placed it in my jacket pocket for now before continuing to skip rocks. About an hour or so later and multiple drying charms due to the twins continuously getting soaked in water courtesy of the giant squid we headed back up towards the castle to warm up and relax before dinner. As we had a few hours to spare I decided to go and tell Professor McGonagall about what had been happening with the Slytherins in my Potions classes. I took a breath gathering up my courage as I knocked on her office door. She opens the door and I can see that she is momentarily surprised, and I am able to see the pile of assignments that she is in the middle of marking and I feel bad interrupting her when she is clearly busy.

"Miss Potter please come in, what can I do for you?" She asks opening the door further and stepping aside to allow me in.

"I'm having a problem with some students that I could do with some help in dealing with, but I can see your busy, so I can come back later of you prefer? "I say awkwardly

She shakes her head gesturing for me to seat opposite her. "Nonsense it's not a problem at all, "She says taking her own seat and looking at me "So what is the problem? "She adds

"I've been having problems with students messing with me during class, "I say suddenly feeling very unsure of myself.

"What exactly do you mean by _`messing with you in class'_? "She asks frowning slightly

"Students have been throwing things into my cauldron's in Potions while I'm brewing usually making it explode "I elaborate looking down at the floor.

After a few moments of complete silence, I hesitantly look up at Professor McGonagall and recoil slightly at the thunderous and borderline murderous look on her face.

"Is it any students in particular? "She asks me her face

"It's about 2/3rds of the 4th year Slytherins, "I say

Nodding she takes out some parchment and writes down the names of the students that I give her before putting her quill down.

"When exactly did this start? "Professor McGonagall asks

"It started last week, just after my name came out of the goblet of fire. "I explain

Sighing she looks at me." Okay, have you been physically harmed as a result of any of the potions exploding? "She asks me carefully

"No, I haven't, "I say as go on to explain about my pendant

"Okay well, what I will do is I will speak to Professor Snape about this and we will discuss a punishment and potential solutions to get them to stop "She explains "Is there anything else that you would like to talk about while you're here? "She adds

I shake my head "No not really "

"Okay then I will talk to you in a few days after Professor Snape and I have come up with a solution and an appropriate punishment, "She says

I thank her before leaving and heading back towards Gryffindor Tower to relax before dinner noticing that I felt a lot better after telling her what was going on and that something would be done about the situation.

That evening I left dinner slightly earlier in order to get myself a jacket because the chances were that it was going to be quite cold on the walk to Hagrid's. After grabbing a jacket before putting my robes on over the top. By the time I was leaving the common room, a few people had started to return from dinner.

As I headed back towards the castle after meeting Hagrid I was still in a state of shock. After meeting at his place he had taken me into the forest and had told me that the first task of the tournament was that we had to face a dragon. I couldn't believe that they were having us face dragons. It still was so surreal to me that up until this tournament there was no rule restricting students competing due to their age meaning that students the same age as me and maybe even younger would have been facing tournaments similar in difficulty and danger levels to this.

It was the next day as I entered the library to do some research about possible spells to use against the dragon when I noticed Cedric sitting at a table with a few of his friends all of whom had been bullying me and I had seen all three of them wearing the Potter Stinks badges at some point. I sat a table behind one of the large book shelves and started to look through the large tomes of books. At one-point, Cedric walked over to a shelf across from me and I made my mind up about whether to warn him about the dragons. I knew that Fleur knew about the dragons as I had seen Madame Maxine in the forest the day before and I was confident that Viktor probably knew about the dragons too. Turning around I crossed the short distance towards him and tapped him on the back." Hey" I said

Turning around he looks at me momentarily surprised." Hey" He says with a smile

"Don't ask how I know this, but the first task is dragons "I say quietly so only he could hear me

"What really? "He asks me with a look of shock and apprehension on his face

I nod" Yeah they have one for each of us. There's a Chinese Fireball, a Welsh Green, a Swedish Short-Snout and a Hungarian Horntail "I sigh slightly

Nodding he looks around again before looking back at me." Do Viktor and Fleur know too?" he asks concerned

"I know Fleur does as I saw Madame Maxine at the same place as I found out and I'm not 100% certain about Viktor but chances are that he knows "I explain

He nods and smiles kindly at me, "Thank you for telling me, Hayley. You could have left me in the dark and made me be completely unprepared"

"It's no problem, Cedric. I wouldn't leave you to be unprepared in something as dangerous as this "I say

He nods. "Well, I better go back to my friends. I'm sorry about the badges and their behaviour. I tried to get them to stop but they won't listen "He adds apologetically

"Don't worry about it. I'm not too phased by it". I say shrugging giving him a small smile

He goes back round to his friends and I sit back down to continue reading through the books that I thought would be good for spells to use against dragons.

Authors Note – Hey Guys I apologise for the late update. I ran into some problems while on holiday that meant I had to stay an extra night causing me to be unable to post. From now on I will be posting on either a Saturday or Sunday and will be posting every two weeks rather than every week. Next chapter will be the First tournament and the run up towards the Yule Ball. Please either PM me or review with who you would like to see as Hayley's date. The options are Hayley/Declan, Hayley/Fred, Hayley/George, Hayley/Cyrus or Hayley/Cedric.


	11. Chapter 11 - Research and First Tasks

_Taking_ _Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

It was two days before the first task and I was headed towards the library to do some more research about which spells I could use in the current task. I had researched and practised a few already but I Knew that I needed to be as prepared as possible in order to survive, I wasn't so bothered about the winning part. It was a Tuesday and because of the lessons I had, I was taking the rest of the afternoon off. It was currently lunchtime but with the date of the first task looking over me, I didn't really have much of an appetite. After lunch, I was supposed to have a double history of magic but I decided for once I was going to skip the classes and do something more productive with my time. Usually, I would use a note-taking quill and spend the time doing other homework and essays but I was up to date with my other assignments so I would have nothing to occupy those two hours with. I arrived at the library and started to go through some charms books to see if there was anything useful in there rather than looking through endless Defense and Transfiguration books.

As I searched through one of the charms books I came across a spell that looked interesting. It was the summoning charm. Thinking about it, the judges had said that she could only take her wand into the arena with her, but they had never said that they weren't allowed to use their wands to summon items into the arena. Placing the book down on the desk I started to come up with a few plans for how to use the summoning charm to her advantage in order to get past the dragon. Thinking about the research I had done on the dragons I came up with a few ideas of different items I could summon. As I saw quite a few students leave the library at the same time I vaguely registered that it was the end of lunch. I knew that Neville wouldn't be worried as I had told him that I would be skipping history of magic in order to prepare for the task and he said that I could borrow his notes if I needed to. I thought about a number of items that I could summon including my broom and my invisibility cloak. I decided that I would make up my mind upon which I would use later that evening after practising the charm. I wasn't even sure if I would be able to summon my cloak or if it would have some kind of charm upon it that prevents it from being summoned. While researching I had tried to see if there was any information regarding whether or not the cloak would work against the dragon because I know that there are certain magical creatures and objects that can see through invisibility cloaks and other concealment charms.

Not long after the final class of the day ended Neville joined her in the library sitting down next to her.

"Hey, how's the research going, "He asks taking in the large piles of books and parchment that were littered on the desk.

"Really well. I have a plan for what how I'm going to get past the dragon" I said glad that we were sat towards the back of the library with no one else close enough to us to overhear.

"That's great. What have you got planned?"Neville asks me interested

"I'm going to use _Accio_ to summon either my broom or my invisibility cloak to me in the arena. It's a summoning charm" I explain

"Are you sure that you'll be able to practice enough to properly cast it. How difficult is it?"He asks concerned

"I've been looking over the theory for it and it doesn't seem to hard. According to the charms book, we learn it later in the year."I say showing him the textbook

As he looks at the page, he nods to himself."Are you going to practice casting the spell today then?"

"Yeah we have about an hour until dinner and then after dinner, we have four hours until curfew so I will do some tonight. If I continue tomorrow after class I should be able to cast it properly in time for the task" I say

By Wednesday night I had managed to cast the spell properly a number of times. I had made sure to see if I could manage to get the charm to work from a similar distance to what it will be during the task and although it was slightly harder I was eventually able to cast it from the distance I needed. I had decided in the end to go with summoning my broom. It turns out that there was some kind of charm preventing me from summoning my cloak and even if it had of worked I was still unsure as to whether the dragon would be able to see through it.

Waking up on Thursday morning I was extremely nervous and was dreading the task that was happening after breakfast. I woke up and got a shower to wake myself up and try and calm my nerves. As I got dressed in the outfit that we had to wear for the task. It had the Gryffindor colours and Hogwarts crest with _'Potter'_ on the back of the robes in a similar fashion to my Quidditch robes.

I brushed my hair and pinned it back so it wouldn't go in my face during the task. As I headed out of my dorm I passed Hermione who looked as though she wanted to say something to me and the look on her face indicated worry and concern. I put it to the back of my mind resolving to ignore it until after the task. Meeting Neville in the common room I was given lots of cheers and good lucks from the assortment of students who were currently in the common room.

We got to the Great Hall and was glad that there was only a handful of students currently in the hall so far. Everyone had the day off for the tournament and as the task wasn't until 11 o'clock many students were taking the opportunity to sleep in. We sat down at the table and Neville started to fill his plate. Despite my nerves causing a lack of appetite, I forced myself to eat something knowing that it wouldn't be good to skip breakfast completely.

Not long later I noticed Cedric come in and sit down at the Hufflepuff Table, with a group of friends, wearing the same outfit as me but in yellow and black. He caught my eye and gave me a small smile trying to be reassuring but it was obvious that he was nervous too. About 40 minutes later the hall started to get busier as more people woke up and came down to eat. Most of the students were talking excitedly about the first task many theories flying around about what it was going to be.

Soon enough it was time for everyone to walk down to where the first task was being held. The champions had been told that there were all allowed one person to accompany them down to the champions tent. Viktor and Fleur went with their respective headmaster/headmistresses, Cedric chose his head of house and I chose Dora to accompany me. I noticed the slight shock on Professor McGonagall's face when I didn't choose her but I didn't care. As much as I liked her I was still mad about how she had taken Dumbledore's side on the day I returned to Hogwarts. Viktor and Fleur left straight away and Cedric left shortly after. When only me and Dora remained in the hall she looked at me seriously. "Do you have a plan for the first task?"

I nod at her."Yeah, I came up with it a few days ago and I've been practising the spell ever since. I managed to do it properly last night" I explain

"What spell are you using?"She asks

"I'm using _Accio_ to summon my broom to me, "I say

"Are you even allowed to do that?"She frowns slightly

"Yeah, the rules only say that we can't take anything except our wands into the arena with us. There aren't any rules about summoning items to us once we are in there"I explain

"Good. Now be careful."She says as we head out of the hall heading towards the tent that connects to the arena.

As we stop outside of the tent she gives me an almost bone-crushing hug."Be careful. I'll be on my rounds making sure everything is secure for most of the tournament but I' promise I will make it back for yours. Mum and dad are here too" She says

"Okay. I'll be careful I promise"I say before she heads off and I take a breath steadying my nerves before heading into the tent.

Eventually, the task got underway and Cedric walked out into the arena first to face his dragon. He had picked the Swedish Short-Snout, Fleur picked the Welsh Green and was going second, Viktor had picked the Chines Fireball going third and I had picked the Hungarian Horntail and was going last. Soon it was announced that it was time to face my dragon in the arena and collect the Golden Egg. When we had been told to collect the Golden Egg my first thought was that I could just summon the egg to me but then as I thought about it more I realised that the egg most likely had anti-summoning charms on it.

( _Skip to completing the task)_

I picked the golden egg up as I flew past it before landing at the side of the arena close to the medical tent. I hadn't been injured too badly and considered myself lucky knowing that it could have been so much worse. The applause from the crowd was almost deafening. I noticed that Cyrus and Neville looked extremely pale no doubt from worry and nerves and they were clearly relieved when they saw me land looking relatively unscathed. Oddly enough Hermione also looked quite concerned and worried and I sighed as I headed into the medical tent.

Immediately Madam Pomfrey started to fuss and fret over me seeing what my injuries were. As I placed the golden egg on the chair next to the bed I looked at the others. Cedric was having a burn on his face treated and it appeared that although it wasn't too bad right now when it first happened it must have been quite painful. Fleur didn't appear to be injured much and was sitting talking to Madame Maxine. Her skirt was burned badly and appeared to have a small burn on her leg too. Viktor didn't appear to have any injuries and was sat talking to Karkaroff. Soon enough Pomfrey had treated the wound on my shoulder from where I had been slashed by the dragon and the small cuts on my arm from where I had fallen from my broom onto the roof of Ravenclaw Tower.

Soon enough we were all cleared to leave and just before we left the tent the tournament officials came in to give us the details of the next task. The Golden Egg that we had to collect from the dragon contained a vital clue that we had to decipher. Without the clue there was very little chance of succeeding in the second task would take place on the 24th of February so I had exactly 3 months to figure out the clue and prepare for the task. As we all left the tent we were all silent and I could tell it was because of four of us were processing the news of the next task as well as coming down from the surge of adrenaline after the task.

After arriving back at Gryffindor Tower I was immediately deafened by a huge round of applause and cheers and congratulations with Fred and George even lifting me up onto their shoulders. After they set me back on the ground my friends pushed through the crowd of people and came over to me. Neville gave me a huge hug clearly glad that I was okay and unharmed. Ginny did the same thing and talked to me for a few moments before going back over to her group of friends.

That evening the entire Gryffindor common room was a complete blur of people as a huge celebratory party commenced courtesy of Fred, George and the majority of the Quidditch team.I noticed that Cyrus had been invited to the party too and I was really happy. We shared a hug and he gave me a gentle punch on the arm for doing something so stupid as to attempt to outfly a dragon.

As the party progressed I noticed Ginny talking to a few people from her year that I either knew or at least recognised but there was one person that I didn't recognise at all. She was fairly tall and slender with bright, piercing blue eyes and medium brown hair that fell down to about the middle of her back. I knew that I wouldn't be able to think back to when Ginny's year group was sorted because I hadn't been there for the sorting as Ron and I had flown his dad's car to Hogwarts after Dobby sealed the barrier to Platform 9 and 3/4. Going over to Fred and George I asked them if they knew who she was.

"Oh, that's Rosie Carter. She and Ginny became friends over the summer. She was homeschooled by her parents for two years. At the end of last year, her parents got some big job in Australia and wouldn't have much time to focus on homeschooling her properly. They decided to have her move in with her grandparents who live close to the Burrow"Fred and George explain together

I nod wondering why I didn't remember her name or who she was as she would have stuck out during the sorting but I put it down to excitement at being back at Hogwarts as well as nerves about what Dumbledore's reaction to my shenanigans over summer.

The party continued well into the night with the exceptions of the younger students who had earlier and only ended for everyone else when Professor McGonagall shut down the party reminding everyone that we all had classes the next day.

That evening I went to bed still in a great mood from the party but also extremely nervous about the next task as well as the upcoming Yule Ball. I couldn't help but still feel extremely paranoid about who had entered me in the tournament and why. I eventually fell into a somewhat peaceful sleep.

 **Authors Note - Hey everyone, thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I apologise that it is a day later than scheduled but I have been quite ill over the past couple of days and have been feeling extremely tired and in pain, so I haven't really wanted to write much. The next chapter should be posted on either the 29th or 30th of September so keep an eye out for it. The Yule Ball will be happening in Chapter 13 so if you have an idea for who you want to see as Hayley's date please review or PM me. The options are in Chapter 10's author note but I will list them again. The options are Hayley/George, Hayley/Fred, Hayley/Cedric, /Hayley/Cyrus and Hayley/Declan. As always if you would like to see your OC in my story all you need to do is leave a review with your bio or PM me with it.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Confessions among Friends

_Taking_ _Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

I decided to leave it a few weeks before trying to figure out the clue inside the egg and let things calm down. I noticed that the bullying from the other houses started to calm down after the first task. The Slytherins continued it but it wasn't as bad as it had been a few weeks prior especially as they had stopped messing with my potions in class. I still hadn't talked to Ron or Hermione and I wasn't going to. I was willing to attempt a friendship with them but I wasn't willing to apologise for doing nothing wrong. It was the 10th of December and we had been told yesterday about the Yule Ball which would be taking place on Christmas Eve. It was mandatory for all champions to attend with a date. All students from 4th year and above were invited to attend but third years could attend if they were brought as a date. I still had no idea who I wanted to go with. I sighed as I left Arithmancy and began heading to History of Magic. On my way there I noticed Fleur heading in the direction of the library on her own clearly not having any more classes for the day. Since the first task, we had talked a few times. Deciding to skip history of magic seeing as it was pointless I headed in the same direction hoping to talk to her.

After catching up with her outside of the library she admitted that she was trying to figure out the clue inside of the egg. I nodded and smiled."I haven't figured it out either. If you like we can research together"I said

She frowned."I know we have been talked a few times but were 't we be against each other"

"Fleur I'm not bothered about winning or losing. I don't even want to be a champion.I'm just doing enough to stay alive" I say as I sit down at a table inside the library. "Besides it's nice to have another girl to talk to. I don't really have many girl-friends to talk to. Most of my friends are boys. You and Ginny are the only girl-friends I really have"

She smiles slightly."You consider me a friend?"She asks slightly shocked

"Why is that such a shock?"I ask curiously

"Well we haven't known each other long and most girls are jealous of me due to my veela heritage" She admits

"I don't care that you're a quarter veela. Besides when I was announced as a champion apart from the other champions and a few of my close friends you were one of the few people that didn't harass me about it or call me a cheat. You believed me straight away when I said that I didn't put my name in the cup" I explained

An hour later the two of us began to head out of the library. We hadn't done any researching choosing to talk and get to know each other instead. As we started to walk down the stairs Fleur turned to me."Hayley do you have a date for the Yule Ball yet?"

I shake my head."No one's asked me yet and I have no idea on who to ask. What about you, do you have a date?" I ask kindly

She shakes her head too much to my surprise."A few boys have asked me but I turned them down. I don't know any of them and most of them are only interested in me because of my looks."She explains

I nod"Well is there anyone you have got your eye on that you might like to ask?"I ask her

She blushes."Well, there is one person I have noticed. He's in Slytherin and I think that he's called Declan" She tells me.

"You mean Declan Longbottom, the 5th year"I clarify while smiling inside

"Yes, do you happen to know him?"Fleur asks hopefully

"Yeah, I do. He's a friend. His cousin Neville and I are really close"I explain to her

"What is he like?"She asks me

"He's nice. He can be quite reserved and quiet but that's just because he doesn't have many friends in Slytherin or in the other houses. Most people think that he is a typical Slytherin but he is just really misunderstood. He means well and has good intentions" I tell her

She nods."Thank you, Hayley"

As we get down to the ground floor she meets up with a few of her friends and waves goodbye as she heads off to where the Beauxbaton students stay while I head to meet up with Tonks.

 **Authors note - Hello Everyone sorry for the delay and for the short chapter. I haven't been well and I have been extremely busy so I haven't had a lot of time to write. Because of this, the Yule Ball will take place in Chapter 14 rather than Chapter 13. Thank you for reading.**


	13. Chapter 13 - Apologies

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

My conversation with Fleur had left me thinking about who I should go with to the ball. I knew that I didn't exactly want to go with someone just for the sake of needing a date. As I headed to where I was meeting Tonks I thought about the boys I knew that I would like to go with. Neville had already told me that he was considering asking Ginny to go as friends because she had been upset that only 3rd years could only go if they were asked as a date. The twins didn't yet have dates but they weren't worried as they knew that they could get dates pretty quick and if not they weren't bothered about going stag. I briefly considered asking Cedric but I wasn't sure if champions were allowed to take another champion as their date and Declan was hopefully going with Fleur.

I arrived at the kitchens where I was meeting Dora. I tickled the pear in the portrait of a bowl of fruit and smiled as the portrait swung open and I walked through. Noticing that Dora wasn't there yet I sat down at the table that was in the corner deciding to wait. While waiting I thought of asking Cyrus to be my date. It wouldn't mean anything and we would just be going as friends. The portrait swinging open a few minutes later interrupted my train of thought and I turned to see Dora walking in and sitting opposite me.

* * *

An hour later I was walking back to the common room for a few hours before dinner. Dora had given me a lot to think about regarding the Yule Ball. I had confessed that I was thinking about asking Cyrus as my date and she was glad that I had at least some idea of who I wanted to be my date as she knew how worried I had been when I first found out about it. By the time I arrived back at the common room I had made my mind up about asking Cyrus the next morning. I went straight up to the dorms to put my books away. I noted as I sorted my bag out that the dorm was currently empty and I was glad for the peace and quiet.

I was almost finished with sorting my bag out when I heard the door open and someone come in.

"Hayley can I talk to you, "Hermione asks sheepishly

I sigh and nod."Sure"I turn to face her as I sit on the edge of my bed and she sits on hers facing me.

"I'm sorry. When your name came out of the goblet I didn't think that you had actually entered your name but I was an idiot and listened to Ron and let him convince me that you had somehow done it to get attention" She explains "I thought that it might blow over but when Ron and Seamus started being horrid to you I knew that I should have said something to him but I didn't want to end up making things worse. I really should have spoken to you afterwards but I didn't really know how"

I listen to her apology and wait for her to finish. I sigh internally. I could tell that she was being sincere in her apology and I did want the two of us to be friends again but I couldn't just forgive her instantly as if it had never happened. I glanced down at my feet for a second before looking back up at her.

"I accept your apology and I forgive you but I can't just pretend that it never happened, "I say

She nods."I know and I don't expect you to" She says

"I think we need to get better at telling each other if there is something that the other is doing that it annoying or upsetting us rather than keeping it to ourselves, "I say tentatively

She nods."I agree"

We both sit in silence for a few minutes not really knowing what to say next. Hermione stands up and as she leaves towards the door she turns back to me."If we can I would like to try being friends again" She says quietly

I give her a small smile."Me too"

She smiles as she walks out the door heading back down to the common room leaving me in peace.

* * *

The next day I woke up excited that it was a Hogsmeade weekend as I was going to go shopping for my dress at one of the stores in the town. Dora was coming with me as was Fleur. and Ginny. After dinner last night I had mentioned that Ginny and I were going shopping for our dresses and I had asked if she wanted to come along. She already had her dress but had said that it would be fun. Ginny had originally only been coming to help me look for my dress but Neville had asked her that night and she now needed a dress. She had been hesitant at first because she had no money to buy a dress and had refused when I offered to buy a dress for her so I compromised and said that it would be an early Christmas present.

I got dressed in warm clothes before heading down to breakfast slightly earlier than what I would do on a Saturday but I knew that Cyrus was always up early on weekends so he could study. As I arrived at the Great Hall I noticed that there was only a small number of students at each table as it was still quite early. I sat down to get some breakfast hoping it would help calm my nerves. Shortly after I noticed Cyrus get up from the table and head towards the exit. As I had already finished eating I stood up and followed him.

I caught up with him on the stairs. "Hey Cyrus," I said walking beside him.

He smiled."Hey Hayley, you're up early"

"Yeah, I'm just looking forward to the Hogsmeade visit. Are you going?"I ask casually

"No, I'm staying at the castle. I've got a few essays that I haven't quite finished yet"He says

I nod and we walk in silence for a few moments. "Well the Yule Ball is coming up and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?"I asked nervously

He stopped in the middle of the stairs seemingly surprised."Really. You want me to go with you?"He asks shocked.

"Yeah. I need a date and I thought it would nice if we went as friends."I explained smiling

He smiles too."I'd love to Hayley"

"That's great,"I say

We stand there awkwardly for about a minute before he speaks again."Okay well, I'll see you later Hayley"He says before carrying on to Ravenclaw tower. I carry on up towards Gryffindor Tower with a smile on my face.

 **Authors Note - Hey Guys hope you enjoyed the chapter.I am aware that it is late but I have been quite busy with going back to university.I will try to post as regularaly as I can though. Next Chapter will be the Yule Ball so it will hopefully be a bit of a longer chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14 - Yule Ball

_Taking_ _Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

It only hit when I returned to my dorm and was putting my dress and shoes away that because of having to remain at Hogwarts for the Yule Ball, chances were that I wouldn't be spending Christmas with the Tonks, with the obvious exception of Dora. I decided to go and talk to Professor McGonagall if it would be okay to return home after the Yule Ball for the last week of the holidays. I headed down to the common room stopping for a few minutes to speak to the twins and a few others from the Quidditch team. They were talking about having a snowball fight in about an hour. I told them that I would be up for it once I had spoken to Professor McGonagall. While I left to go to Professor McGonagall's office Fred and George were leaving to go seek out some more of their friends. I arrived and gently knocked on the door. After a few seconds, she opened the door and smiled at me.

"Hello, Miss Potter what can I do for you?"Professor McGonagall asks kindly as she gestured for me to come inside and take a seat.

I smiled as I took a seat and she did the same thing."Professor, I'm aware that I have to stay at the castle for the Yule Ball but I was wondering if I would be able to return home the next day and remain there until the end of the holidays?"I asked

She nodded."Yes, you would be able to do that. You would need to use the Floo network but it is up to you and the Tonks as to whether you would leave late on the 24th or early on the 25th"Professor McGonagall explains

"Okay that's fine, I'm going to send a letter to them after dinner and I'll ask them what would be best "I explain

Professor McGonagall nods."Okay, Miss Potter that is fine, once you have decided which day you will be leaving just come and inform me"She says making a note on some parchment.

After I finished I headed back up to the common room to spend some time talking with everyone before getting ready for the snowball fight which I was sure would be extremely fun especially with Fred and George planning it. After around an hour, we all decided to end the snowball fight and go inside to warm up and relax before dinner. It had been mostly Gryffindors that had joined in but I did see a few Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's, mainly in the upper years so it made sense that they were probably friends with the twins and the other 6th and 7th year Gryffindors. Before walking back into the castle many warming and drying charms were cast and by the time we got back up to the common room you were completed unable to tell that we had just spent an hour throwing snowballs at each other in freezing cold weather.

That evening after dinner I sat on my bed writing my letter to Ted and Andromeda about coming home after the Yule Ball and whether I should Floo that evening or if I should wait until the morning. Deciding to leave sending the letter for a day or two so I could get the chance to talk to Dora and whether she would be able to come home for a few days or not.

It was two days later when I finally git the chance to talk to Dora about Christmas and whether she would be able to come home for a few days or not. We had met up during the last period of the day which for me should have been History of Magic but once again I was skipping it in favour of trying to find ways of deciphering the message behind the ear-splitting screech. Dora had met me in the Gryffindor common room to help me as it was empty of students. As I shut another book down on the ever-growing pile I sighed and leaned back in the chair."I give up. I need a break. This is driving me crazy" I groaned from my chair putting my head in my hands. Dora chuckled from the chair opposite me as she put her own book down. "Dora I was wondering if you would be allowed to take a few days off after the Yule Ball to come and spend some time at home?"I asked her

She looked at me smiling."I take it that's what you're doing then?"She said back.

"Yeah I asked Professor McGonagall the other day if I could do that and she said that it was fine. So I thought it would be nice if you were able to come too and we could spend a few days together as a family over the holidays."I explained

She nodded. "Well, I can write my boss a letter to see if it is possible. I can't promise anything though."She said gently

"I understand"I nod

Dora left when people came back from classes after talking for a few minutes with the twins. Neville, Hermione and I talked briefly about what I missed in History of Magic which wasn't much considering I had been reading the textbook on my own going over things and I was further ahead than what they were going over in class. Hermione was concerned that I was hardly attending History of Magic anymore but she understood why. The reason that she wasn't causing a fuss and telling Professor McGonagall was that I was still doing the homework assignments that we were being given and still covering the content.

After talking amongst ourselves about how the research was going and the Yule Ball and our plans for the holidays I stood up and said that I was going for a bit of a walk to get some fresh air and that they were welcome to join me if they wanted. Hermione declined, saying that she was going to do some more studying before dinner and Neville said that he was going to relax for a bit before dinner. "Okay that's fine I'll probably see you guys later at dinner," I said as I left the common room.

I was walking among the grounds and as much as I was enjoying the fresh air after being inside for most of the day It was much colder than I had expected so I pulled my robe tighter around me making my mind up about not staying outside for too long.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by someone tapping me on the shoulder and talking to me. "Hey Potter"

I turned round to see Malfoy with his typical half smirk on his face. "Hey, Malfoy what's up?"I asked

"My mum sent me these in the mail a few days ago and told me to give them to you..I was going to give you them after History of Magic but I noticed that you weren't there again."He said handing me three different letters. "I don't know what two of them are but I know that one of them is an invitation to the New Years Eve party that my parents are holding," He says with another smirk

I look at him confused."Thank you for the invite but why would your parents invite me?"

"As much as you hate to acknowledge it, Hayley, you're famous and exactly the sort of person that would be invited to events like even if that wasn't the case your family"Malfoy says, sounding genuinely kind and for the first time since meeting him 3 years ago actually called me by my first name rather than my last.

"Thank You, Draco. I will definitely think about going"I said honestly. **  
**

He nods at me and turned around before heading back inside the castle leaving me to my thoughts once again.

That evening I opened up the first letter from Narcissa which was as Draco had said was an invitation to their New Years Eve party and after reading through it I had made up my mind that I would be going as long as Andy and Ted were okay with it. I then opened the second letter.

 _"Dear Hayley,_

 _I hope that you are well and that school is going well for you. Draco told us that your name had come out of the goblet and that many people believe that you somehow entered your name. Lucius has been listening out amongst his contacts to see if any of them have anything to with it. I also wanted to say that you did the right thing in changing your magical guardian to my sister and her parents may have disowned her from the family when she married him but I never agreed with the decision. The third letter that I sent is to go to my sister. We haven't been in touch since she was disowned and I felt that it had been too long._

 _I hope that you are able to attend the party on New Year's Eve and I hope that you enjoy the Yule Ball._

 _Love_

 _Narcissa "_

I smiled as I put the letter down in front of me. It was nice to know that Narcissa and Lucius cared about me enough to try and see if my name coming out of the goblet had been part of some plan made by deatheaters. It was still so strange that I was on speaking terms with Draco and his parents.

 _"If someone had told me two years ago that Malfoy and I were on civil terms with one another then I would have laughed and said that you were a crazy person,"_ I thought to myself.

I finished writing the letter to Andy and Ted explaining that I had been invited to the Malfoy's party and asking if I could go. I sorted the letters putting everything into one envelope giving it to Hedwig along with a small letter to Narcissa and Lucius thanking them for the invite and that I would think about it. After sending Hedwig off with them I changed into pyjamas and went to bed.

It was the morning of the 24th of December and the Yule Ball was taking place that evening. Classes had ended for the holidays on the 16th and they started back up on the 2nd of January which meant we had just over two weeks off. Two days after I sent the letter to Andy and Ted they replied back saying that I could Floo back home on the morning of the 25th and I could take the train back to Hogwarts on the 1st. Dora was also coming home for a few days but she had to return on the 29th. They had also said that if I really wanted to I could go to Malfoy's New Year's Eve party. Most of the day passed by uneventfully and relaxed and went it came time to start getting ready Fleur had said that she would join us in our dorms. Ginny and Padma also joined us in our dorm to get ready so in total there were 7 girls getting ready for the ball. We all helped each other with our hair and makeup for those of us wearing makeup.

Fleur had chosen to put her hair in a slicked-back bun at the back of her head and was wearing a one-shoulder silvery grey dress with a white flower embellishment just below the shoulder. She was wearing a pair of strappy silver heels that complimented the dress. She had chosen to wear a small amount of silvery grey eyeshadow and pale pink lipstick. Parvati had put her hair in a long plait down one side of her head with gold ribbon braided within that matched the gold bracelets on her wrists. Her dress was a hot pink one-shoulder dress with silver sequins adorning the shoulder. She had chosen to wear a pair of black strappy heels with her dress. Padma had gone with an almost matching dress to her sister except in turquoise rather than pink. She had braided her hair with a silver ribbon and then twisted the braid into an elegant bun. The silver ribbon matched the silver bracelets on her wrist. She had chosen to wear strappy silver heels. Lavender had decided to curl her hair leaving it down and her dress was a red dress with a silver belt and shoulder straps. She was wearing a pair of matching red strappy heels. She had decided to wear some light champagne coloured eyeshadow and some bright lipstick to match her dress.

Ginny had gotten a soft sage green dress with matching ribbon belt and lace shoulders. Her shoes were a pair of black short platforms with ballerina-style straps around her ankles. Her hair was left down with two side braids joining at the back. Ginny had decided to wear a pink tinted lipgloss and a little bit of blush. Hermione had gotten a soft blue off the shoulder dress with lace embellishments on the top with a slightly lighter blue ribbon belt around the middle. Her shoes were a pair of short dark blue heels with teardrop cutouts on the front and sides. We had used a generous amount of Sleakeasy's hair potion and curled it slightly before putting into an elegant knot at the back with a few pieces left in front to frame her face. She had chosen to not wear any eyeshadow but to wear some red lipstick. I had gotten a forest green one-shoulder dress with a layer of green lace embellishments and a slightly darker green skinny belt. My shoes were a pair of matching dark green heels with floral designs and cutouts. For my hair, we curled it and left it down. I decided to wear some gold eyeshadow and red lipstick.

After we all had finished getting ready we noticed that it was nearing eight o clock which is when the champions would walk into the hall with their partners and would start the ball off with the opening dance. The 7 of us left the dorm and common room finding it empty as the other students attending had already gone down to the entrance hall. We were all meeting our dates by the entrance hall bef9re the students went in to wait for the champion's entrance. Ginny, Parvati, Lavender and Padma went first round the corner to meet their dates. Ginny was going with Neville, Lavender was going with Seamus, Parvati was going with Dean and Padma was going with Terry Boot, who was a fellow Ravenclaw. After they had met their dates it was only me, Fleur and Hermione left at the top of the stairs. Fleur went first and met Declan and went over and stood by Cedric who was stood with Cho Chang. Hermione then went next and I watched as she met up with Viktor Krum at the bottom of the stairs before going to stand with the other two champions and their dates. Finally, I was the only one left and taking a breath to clear my nerves I stepped around the corner and saw the eyes of the people that were still in the entrance hall slowly turn towards me as I walked down the stairs meeting Cyrus at the bottom of them.

 **Authors Note - Hey Guys sorry for the massive delay in posting this. I have been really busy with uni assignments and I haven't had much chance to write until very recently. I can't say when the next chapter will be posted but since it is going to be shorter it shouldn't be too long of a wait. I won't be posting with much of a regular schedule anymore but it will typically be on a Sunday/Monday. Hopefully, the next chapter should be up within a week or maybe even less if I get it written quickly.**

 **PS - You can find the link to the girls outfits from Pinterest in my profile.**


	15. Chapter 15 - Holiday Celebrations

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognize it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

I returned to my dorm just before midnight to find I was the last one back and everyone except for Hermione was asleep. I slowly headed over to my bed throwing my shoes that I had already taken off at the end of my bed sighing with relief as I sank into the soft mattress.

"You're back late" She commented with a smirk

"Yeah, it continued for another couple hours after you left. When I left there was probably only 7 or 8 people left and most of them were teachers. Cyrus went to his dorm about an hour and a half ago. He offered to stay until I wanted to leave but I could see that he was really tired so I said that he should go to bed" I said while sitting up. "What happened that made you leave so soon. I thought that things were going well between you and Viktor?"I asked her while I grabbed the pyjamas I had left out on my pillow after packing my truck.

"Things were going well. Ron was being a prat and said some stuff that upset me so I decided to leave"Hermione explained

"Do you want to talk about it?"I asked her

"No, but thank you, Hayley, for the offer. I'm mostly over it now anyway" She said shrugging

I nod. I stood up and went to the bathroom to get myself ready for bed. I came out a little bit later and put my shoes and dress in my trunk making sure to leave clothes on top of it for the morning. I sat down looking at Hermione across from me. "Hermione if there's ever a ball or party again that is more than three hours long remind me to not wear heels, " I said

Hermione laughs."I'll try. Night Hayley"

"Night Hermione, "I said as we both pulled the curtains around our beds and went to sleep.

The next morning I woke up when my alarm went off and I got excited about seeing Andy and Ted again after so long. I pulled the curtains back to see that Hermione's bed was empty indicating she was most likely in the bathroom or in the common room and Parvarti and Lavender were still asleep.

I grabbed my clothes and pulled the curtains back again so that I could get dressed. As I finished pulling on my jumper and pulled back my curtains again Hermione was still in the bathroom. Because I hadn't taken my curls out last night before sleeping they were quite knotted and tangled thanks to my hair growing a lot in the last 5 months since I last got it cut. I brushed them through to get as many of the tangles out making it really frizzy. Giving up I put it in a ponytail until I got home and could shower and wash out the curls. I was putting my shoes on as Hermione came out of the bathroom and went over to her bed.  
"Morning Hayley. Merry Christmas" She said smiling

"Thanks, Hermione. Merry Christmas to you too."I said smiling back

"You all ready to go home for a week then?"She asked

"Yeah, I'm just making sure that I haven't forgotten is meeting me at Professor McGonagall's office in about 10 minutes," I say as I stand up from my bed and throw on my jacket.

"Okay. Before you go are you really sure about going to the Malfoy's party. I mean after everything that's happened is it really a good idea. You know that they were supporters of You-Know-Who" She says concerned

I sighed expecting this. I had been getting this pretty much every day since I told my friends that I was going. "Hermione I'm sure. I know it seems really odd considering me and Malfoy have been enemies since day one but it's fine. There are some things that I'll tell you all when I get back."I explained

She frowns still but nods."Okay just be careful "She says giving me a hug.

I give her a hug back."I will be Hermione don't worry and if you are really that worried you can use the communication rings to check in with me while I'm there"I say

She nods as we pull apart and I head for the door.

"Remember to not wear heels," She said just before I left remembering what I had told her last night.

I laughed and even though I couldn't see her face I knew she had a small smork on her face.

I use the levitation spell on my trunk to levitate it down the stairs beside me as I head down the stairs to McGonagall's office. About 5 minutes later I arrived at McGonagall's office and knocked on the door.

10 minutes after I arrived at McGonagall's office I was back home. I was currently in my room getting ready to take a shower so I could sort my hair out before we had breakfast. As I stepped out of the shower I dried it off with a hairdryer and brushed it putting it into a quick plait. I got dressed in some warm clothes and putting on a long cardigan. Going downstairs I smelled the familiar smell of Andy's blueberry pancakes that I had missed so much. As I got downstairs I sat down at the table just as Andy was putting a plate of pancakes down in the middle of the table.

After eating I went upstairs to my room to get the presents that I had been given from friends before I had left and the ones that I had bought for Andy, Dora and Ted when I had done all my other shopping for my friends. After a few minutes of getting them all out from my trunk and placing them on my bed knowing that I wouldn't be able to carry them in one go I started to put some in my hands deciding on making two or three trips when I turned around to see Ted at the door holding two cardboard boxes in his hands.

"Dora mentioned that you had quite a lot of presents so I thought I'd bring a few boxes. Save you multiple trips" He said with a smile

"Thanks, Ted, "I said smiling back

We separated the presents into the two boxes. In one box we put the gifts from my friends and in the other, we put the presents that I had bought for Ted, Dora and Andy. We went downstairs to the living room where Dora was sat on the floor by the tree sorting out presents into 4 piles, one for each person. I sat down and started putting the presents from me into each of the piles that Dora had made while Ted put my box of presents down next to my pile. After the presents were all laid out we started to open them one at a time. Dora went first and I handed her the gifts from her pile. After Dora had opened her gifts Andy and Ted went and I went last as I had the largest pile due to having so many from friends, more than I had gotten in the past but that was down to making a number of new friends this year mainly Declan, Fleur, Cyrus, Cedric and Viktor.

I started by opening the ones from my friends wanting to leave the ones from family for last. Hermione had gotten me a green notebook along with a set of quills and a small selection of wizarding sweets. The notebook was a really nice present because I had recently told Hermione that I hated writing everything down on parchment and that I liked to be able to write things down on normal paper in a notebook especially when it wasn't school related. Neville had gotten me a new wand holster for my arm and wand care kit. Declan had gotten me some sweets and framed pictured of one of the times that Cyrus and the twins had joined us for one of our mini Quidditch games. Since he was in the picture I knew that someone else had taken the picture most likely Neville or Colin since they were the only ones I knew of that were even slightly interested in photography. Fleur had gotten me two dresses. A light blue one that was shorter and more suited for summer and a black and gold one that was longer and slightly thicker which was clearly more suited for the winter months. I smiled thinking that it would be perfect for the Malfoy's New Year's Eve party which was a week away and I still hadn't decided on what I was wearing. I got a selection of prank items from Fred and George, a jumper and homemade brownies from Molly and Arthur and a snowball with a miniature model of Hogwarts inside from Ginny. I smiled as I had seen them being sold in Hogsmeade but hadn't thought to buy one. Viktor had gotten me a broom care kit and a pair of thick warm seeker gloves. According to the note attached, they were the same type that he wears because he knows that it can get really cold when flying. I got an assortment of sweets and a new copy of Quidditch Through the Ages from the Quidditch team as a group present. I got another framed picture from Cedric that was of me flying away from the dragon during the first task. The final present from my friends was from Cyrus. He had gotten me a pair of silver matching bracelet and earrings. The note said that he came across them in one of the little antique shops in Hogsmeade that along with other things sells old jewellery for low prices. I smiled as I organised the presents back into the box before moving onto the presents from family.

It was a week later and Andy was helping me get ready for the party. Because of how annoying it had been to get the curls out of my hair after the Yule Ball we opted to put my hair in a plaited bun at the back of my head and simple makeup. I was wearing the black and gold dress that Fleur had given me as a Christmas present with shoes that were similar to the ones that Ginny had worn to the Yule Ball so they had a short platform rather than an actual heel. The guests weren't arriving until 8 but Draco had asked me to Floo over about 40 minutes early so that we could exchange presents as we hadn't had the chance to do it before I left. This would also give me chance to ask Lucius if either he or Snape had, had anything to do with the letters from Dumbledore and McGonagall not reaching me during the summer.

When I Floo'd over I managed not to stumble and I can guarantee that if I had of worn heels that would not have been the case.

"Wow, Potter you certainly clean up nice. I wasn't sure if the Yule Ball was going to be a one-off occasion or not"Draco said from the entrance hall with his typical smirk.

"Malfoy did you just give me a compliment. I think that cold Slytherin mask is starting to crack a little"I say giving him a smirk of my own.

I crossed over to him giving him a small smile as I handed him his present."Merry late Christmas, and Happy new year Draco"

"You too Hayley"He smiled as he took the present."Thank you. Yours is in the living room."He said as he showed me to the living room

"My dad is in his study finishing something up and my mum is making sure the finishing touches are ready for the party, "He said as we walked in. We both started to open the present from one another. I had gotten him some new seeker gloves and a separate communication ring so that we could talk without anyone knowing. This was mainly because it was always so hard to find time to talk because Draco could never come and talk to me when my friends were around and the same with his friends. It did mean that I would have to concentrate a bit more to make sure that I was talking to Draco and not to Neville and Hermione. I didn't really have to worry about Ron anymore though as Neville had told me that he had seen Ron put the ring in his bedside drawer after my name had come out of the Goblet and hadn't taken it out since. Draco had gotten me a large pot of emerald green ink that I had been considering buying for myself for a while. From his parents, I got an emerald necklace and earring set and a book that contained a mixture of offensive and defensive spells that from a quick glance couldn't technically be classed as dark spells but could definitely not be considered light either. So it was more of a grey area. I sent a confused look at Draco so he explained.

"The book was my dad's idea. He said he would explain later" Draco explained.

I nodded and we continued talking for a few more minutes before his parents joined us for a little bit until the guests started to arrive. To begin with, Draco introduced me properly to a few of his friends that were attending. They were all surprised to see me and when a few were about to make a snide comment Draco shut them up with a glare. He went with the story that his father had ready to explain the reason for her attendance. The story was that when he found out that she and Draco hadn't gotten off on the right foot he said it was the polite thing to invite her and try to start fresh. Narcissa took it upon herself to introduce me to many of the guests including Minister Fudge and his wife and the heads of noble families.

Midway through the party Lucius took me aside and asked if we could speak in his study privately and I nodded and followed him. I had questions swirling around my brain that I really needed answers to and it gave me a way to escape from the party for a bit.

We walked in and Lucius shut the door behind him and sat down gesturing for me to do the same. Once we had sat down he looked at me and began."I can assume that you are curious about the book?"He asked

I nodded."Yeah, Draco said that it was your idea?"

"Yes the book is from the Malfoy library and the spells inside are something that all of the Malfoys start to learn usually when they enter 6th year."He begins to explain

"So why are you giving it to me.I'm only a 4th year and I'm not a Malfoy. Shouldn't it be going to Draco?"I ask confused

"Inside the Malfoy library, there are another three copies of the book so Draco will get his copy when he enters his 6th year. As for you not being a Malfoy, you are still family and the Malfoy family looks out for its own. And as for you only being a 4th year I am not worried about your ability to properly cast the spells. From what Severus had told me you are a very talented and bright witch. He said that despite your slightly above grades the past few years it is obvious that you are very intelligent. He has said that over the past few months your grades have increased significantly indicating that you were purposefully holding yourself back" He says with a perfectly raised eyebrow.

I blush slightly."Thank you. Yeah at the beginning of the summer a friend gave me some advice and said that I shouldn't be holding myself back on account of somebody else. So after looking back at how much I was holding myself back, I decided to start getting serious about my studies."I admitted

Nodding he continued."As for why I'm giving you the book it is because there have been two incidents so far where you have been in danger. First, there was the attack on your relatives which thankfully we were able to warn you before it happened and no one was hurt and it was clear that Dumbledore didn't have anyone watching your place otherwise he would have known about it sooner. Secondly, there was your name coming out of the Goblet of Fire and having to compete in the tournament. I obviously believe that you had nothing to do with entering it seeing as it wasn't even your handwriting on the parchment. No, I haven't been able to find anything out about whether any of his supporters had anything to do with it but something has happened that I don't think is a coincidence."He says

I frown."What's happened?"

He sighs before pulling up the sleeve of his left arm revealing his dark mark."After his defeat on Halloween, it faded and continued to fade over the years since. But over the past few months, it had started to get darker in colour again and there have been the occasional twinges of pain. This means that he has been able to find a body to keep him alive long enough until he can find a permanent form and come back to full strength again."He explains while rolling his sleeve down again.

I sit silently for a minute trying to process all of the information when I got a thought" You said that you didn't think that it was a coincidence that it was happening during the tournament. Do you think that whatever his plan is to get a permanent form, that they had to get me into the tournament?"

"I do yes and that is why I'm giving you the book. I can't help but think that something is going to happen and You need to be prepared. Something tells me that Dumbledore isn't making sure that you are prepared to fight him should he succeed in coming back?"He says raising his eyebrow again.

I shook my head."No he isn't and I can tell he knows more about why you know who actually targeted my family in the first place but he isn't telling me anything. Whenever I ask he always says that I'm not ready to know."I sigh before getting another thought.

"Lucius, do you happen to know why he was so fixated on targeting my family?"I asked hopefully

Sighing he shook his head."Unfortunately, I don't. Because I only joined in order to protect Narcissa and Draco I wasn't as privy to as much inside knowledge as the other members of his inner circle" He said. "But there is a chance that Severus might know so if you ask him he might be more helpful" He adds

I nod."Okay, thank you, Lucius."I said

"You are is there anything else that you wish to know?"He asks

I nod."Well after I left the Dursleys and went to stay at the Leaky Cauldron over the summer the only way that I received letters from Dumbledore and McGonagall was if they were sent by the Weasleys and I was wondering if either you or Snape had anything to do with it?"

I noticed a slight smirk appear on his face very similar to Draco's."It may have been Severus's idea to place a ward on you so that Dumbledore couldn't find you and trace you. We thought that by his letters not being able to reach you it would be a good way to annoy him"

After joining the party again I talked to a few of Draco's friends that had been friendly and hadn't really had a problem with me being there before going out to the garden for some fresh air. It was nearing midnight and I would be Flooing home soon after. It had started to snow earlier on and there was a thin layer of snow on the ground. As I watched the snow continue to fall over the garden I heard someone walk up behind me. As they stopped at the side of me I saw that it was Blaise Zabini. He had been one of Draco's friend who had been quite nice and hadn't made a snide remark to me during the party. We had talked a few times and he was quite nice. He seemed to hate large parties as much as I did.

I had been quite surprised when he had continued to talk to me during the party seeing how at Hogwarts I had never really seen him talk to anyone except a few select Slytherins. I had been even more surprised when he had complimented me saying how lovely I looked tonight. That had caused me to blush heavily and I was only just able to thank him without stuttering with nerves. It wasn't surprising given how handsome Blaise was and the fact that many of the girls at Hogwarts had small crushes on him no matter their house myself included.

"Hi, Blaise what are you doing out here?"I asked kindly

"Nothing much. Trying to escape the party, some of the girls were flirting pretty hard and I didn't think I would be able to hold back laughter anymore so I decided to make a quick exit"He says smiling."What about you?"

"Similar reasons. I don't really like large parties that much so I've been trying to keep to myself as much as possible."I explained

"If you don't like large parties then why did you decide to come?"He asked curiously

"I could ask you the same thing Blaise" I retorted quickly but my smile showed that I was only teasing.

"Well, my mother said that if I didn't go she would hex me into next week. What's your reason?"He said grinning

"Apart from Malfoy's parents wanting to try and make amends for how I and Malfoy got off on the wrong foot, I didn't really have anything better to do, "I said shrugging my shoulders.

We continued talking for a while longer getting comfortable with teasing each other about different things. By this point, we had both ventured out into the garden and were walking about enjoying the sound of the fresh undisturbed snow crunching under our feet as we walked. I wasn't worried about the temperature because if I did get cold I could just ask Narcissa to cast a warming charm on me when I got back inside.

We soon decided to head back inside to rejoin the party and as I turned to head back through the garden I slipped on some ice on the path and I felt myself falling backwards. Before I could hit the ground though Blaise caught me. We looked at each other and I could feel myself blush at how close we were to one another. His dark brown eyes met my bright green eyes and we both tentatively closed the gap between us and our lips met just as the clock struck midnight and the guests inside were celebrating the new year coming in.

A few moments later we pulled apart and I looked at him feeling myself heat up in embarrassment. Before Blaise had the chance to speak I pulled away and ran back inside. After getting inside I went and hid in the bathroom to try and process the fact that Blaise and I had just kissed.

The next day I woke up at around 9 to the smell of Andy's blueberry pancakes. I slowly managed to drag myself out of bed and start getting ready. When I had come home for the week I decided that it wasn't worth unpacking everything from my trunk so I had been living out of my trunk for the past week so I didn't really have anything to pack. I got dressed in clothes that I had left out before placing my pyjamas back in my trunk along with a few final things that I had left out that I would need to get ready in the morning before closing it and locking it.

As I sat on the bed putting on my shoes I started to think back to last night. I had managed to avoid Blaise for the short time between the kiss and when I left and it didn't seem as though he had told anyone so I was hoping that we were just going to pretend that it had never happened. An hour and a half later I was sitting alone in an empty compartment waiting for the train to set off. I was reading the book that Lucius had given me the night before. Before I left the party that night he charmed the book so that to everyone but me it would look and read like Quidditch through the majority of the journey, I occupied myself with reading the book and taking breaks to talk to Hermione and Neville and talking to Draco a few times as well. I also wrote out a letter Sirius and Remus. It was only a short one thanking them for the Christmas presents and just to see how they were doing. When the train arrived I got in one of the first carriages to avoid the possibility of running into Blaise. After getting off of the carriage I headed straight to the Great Hall knowing that dinner would be starting soon.

That evening after dinner Hermione, Neville, Fred and George and I all met up outside one of the unused classrooms on the 5th floor so I could tell them the truth about what had happened with the Malfoys over the summer like I had promised to before going home.

We all sat in a circle and they all looked at me expectantly.

"Okay, the truth is that it wasn't just pure luck that I wasn't home at the time the attack happened. Someone sent me a letter earlier that day warning me of the attack and when I git back home after spending some time with Neville on Diagon Alley I read it and I immediately packed my stuff and left"I admitted

"Okay, so who sent you the letter?"Neville asked

"It was Professor Snape, "I said

"How did Snape know of the attack in the first place?"Hermione asked suspiciously

"He didn't originally know. What happened is Lucius Malfoy had found out about the attack and so he told Snape to send a letter warning me."I explained

The twins frowned at the same time and then Fred started speaking."Why on earth would Lucius warn you of the attack? He's a death eater" George said finishing his twins sentence.

I sighed."In the letter that Snape sent, it said that Lucius didn't want to join Voldemort and that Voldemort threatened to kill his wife and unborn son if he didn' he found out about the attack he said he knew he had to warn me of it. There was a portkey attacked to the letter that took me to Malfoy Manor when I said a trigger word"I explained to them

"Hayley that was really dangerous for all you knew it could have been a trap"Hermione scolded

I sighed."I know and that was a thought in my head too, but I reasoned that Snape wouldn't have sent me the letter if he thought it would put me in danger. As much as he dislikes me I don't think he wants me dead" I shrugged "That's one reason why I accepted the invite to the party. I felt it was only polite to go after Lucius pretty much saved my life" I added.

"Okay, so what's the other reason?"Hermione asked

"The other reason I said yes to going is that the Malfoy's are family" I admitted slightly awkwardly

"How are you related to the Malfoys?"Neville asked

"Through my grandmother. Her name was Dorea Potter but before she married my grandfather her last name was Black. She was the great aunt to Andromeda and her two sisters Narcissa and Bellatrix"As I said the last name I saw Neville pale slightly and tense up at the name. I frowned slightly and made a mental note to talk to him about it later.

"So Mrs Malfoy is what your cousin or something?"George asked

"Yeah she's like a second cousin or something but she's still family. That's also why I chose Andromeda and her husband to be my guardians."I nodded

We soon headed back to the common room as it was nearing curfew and then we quickly headed up to our dorms to get some sleep as we had classes the next day. I was able to sleep in tomorrow morning as it was a double session of History of magic first and then a free period just before lunch. So I didn't actually have to get up for class until just before lunch.

 **Authors Note - Hey guys I hope that you enjoyed the long chapter. I had started writing it much earlier as I had a lot of free time this week. I started writing and I got so many ideas that I just couldn't stop. I am going to be really busy for the next two weeks so I won't be updating again until the 16th of December.**


	16. Chapter 16 - The End of an Era?

_Taking_ _Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine. Many characters will be OOC.**

Hayley POV

It was Monday morning and despite the lack of need for me to get up until just before lunch I still woke up at nine which was the time that History of Magic was starting. After spending about 10 minutes after I woke up laying in bed debating whether to get up or not I finally forced myself to get out of bed. I took my time getting a long warm bath and then slowly got dressed. Once I was properly dressed it was just turning ten. I was starting to get a little bit peckish but because lunch was in two hours I decided to call Dobby to bring me a quick snack up to the common room. I was sat eating a sandwich while reading through the book from Lucius when Professor McGonagall came into the common room. She didn't look surprised to see me so it was obvious that someone had told her that I could be found in the common room.

"Miss Potter, can you please explain why you are not in class?"She asks obviously not happy that whoever had told her that she could find me in the dorms and not in class was correct

"Because it's pointless. I don't exactly learn anything in History of Magic anyways. I'm still doing all of the homework and reading through the textbook so I know what's going on. It's not as if Professor Binns notices that I'm not there and besides excluding today I'm usually in the library during History of Magic reading various books to try and figure out ways to not die in this crazy tournament that I'm being forced to compete in"I say heatedly before taking a breath to calm myself down.

Professor McGonagall at least had the decency to look a little bit guilty before she spoke again."I suppose given the circumstances I can look past it."She says

I nod."Thank you, Professor"

"Now that isn't why I came. Professor Dumbledore would like to speak to you in his office" She explains

I frown and internally groan and sigh before nodding."Okay just give me a few minutes"I say standing up. I call Dobby to remove the empty plate and goblet before taking my book back up to my dorm and putting it in my trunk. I grab my robe from on top of my bed and put my shoes on before going back down to the common room and following McGonagall out of the common room and to Dumbledore's office.

When I arrived I sat down declining Dumbledore's offer of a lemon drop before I asked him what it was that he wanted to talk to me about not wanting to be here any longer than necessary. I still respected and trusted him but there were a lot of things that he kept to himself always claiming that it was for the greater good. Over the year I had started to doubt some of the things that Dumbledore said and ever since the meeting back in September regarding the events of the summer I had been getting the feeling that he was annoyed that I wasn't blindly trusting him as I had done for the past 3 years but I wasn't sure as to why.

"Professor McGonagall said that you wanted to talk to me about sir?"I asked having an idea that as it was only the first day back the chances of it being about school were quite slim.

"Yes, my dear I heard that you were at the Malfoy's New Years Eve party and I was curious as to why you attended given the recent history between the family and yourself?"He said looking at me with a twinkle in his eyes

"I figured that it would have been rude not to accept given the Malfoy's reasons for the invitation in the first place" I explained

"And their reasons were what exactly?"He asked

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy were unhappy with their son's actions towards me during the past few years and wanted to try and make amends for them. The Malfoys are very political and they knew it wouldn't do well for their reputation or their image if the press got word of some of the things that have occurred between two of us. Now they never said any of this but it was pretty obvious considering many of the guests in attendance were very high profile" I explained. Lucius had told me to stick to the story if Dumbledore asked any questions about it and Narcissa had given me some advice on how to explain things politically and vague.

I noticed his frown and the twinkle dimmed slightly as he thought about what I had said and how I had said it but it was only for a moment before the twinkle was back and he looked back at me.

"That is fine Miss Potter I was just concerned when I heard that you had attended considering who the Malfoy's are loyal to, "He said giving me a piercing stare.

"I know sir and I appreciate your concern. I myself was slightly worried but I know that they couldn't very well do anything to me with everyone there. They wouldn't risk damaging their image like that."I say smiling

He nods and allows me to leave. Once I have left his office I quickly head back to the common room. Looking at my watch on the way back I had just over an hour before lunch so I would be able to read some more of the book.

Saturday morning came around and I was in the library looking up different charms that could help me with the second task. Cedric had secretly handed me a small piece of parchment the day before after I had left dinner. I had read it that night in the dorms.

 _"Hayley I found out that the secret to listening to the egg is to listen to it under water. The message said_

 _'Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground, and while your searching, ponder this; We've taken what you'll sorely miss, an hour long you'll have to look, and recover what we took, but past an hour - the prospect's black, too late, it's gone, it won't come back'._

 _I'm not exactly sure what it refers to but we should be able to figure it out. I'm not sure if Fleur or Viktor have figured it out so it would be best to see if they do. I know that we are competitors but it was only right to tell you considering you told me about the first task._

 _Cedric "_

I had spent some time thinking about what it could mean before I got an idea. The first part obviously referred to mermaids and thanks to reading A History of magic a few times over the summer I knew that there was a mer-village at the bottom of the Black Lake. So it meant that something or somebody dear to each of the champions would be taken and placed at the bottom of the lake and we would have an hour to retrieve them.

My first priority was to find a spell or charm that would allow me to breathe underwater for a minimum of an hour. While I was searching through various books to find different spells I noticed someone take a seat opposite me. I knew without even having to look up that it was Blaise.

"Potter we need to talk about what happened last week," Blaise says quietly

"Why?"I responded

"You know exactly why. We _kissed_ Hayley. We can't pretend that it never happened"He whispers

My breath stopped and I tensed slightly. This was the first time he had actually called me Hayley. Even at the party, he had called me Potter.

Blaise POV

I watched her tense up and I saw her eyes stop moving across the book she was currently reading. I watched as she slowly looked up at me for the first time since I sat down and I realised why. I had called her Hayley and not Potter like usual.

Sighing I looked at her."Hayley, we need to talk about it"I say again

"Okay let's talk, "She says

"So why did you run off after we kissed?"I asked her. I was hoping that it was just out of shock and not because she didn't like it or that she didn't like me. I wouldn't exactly be telling the truthful if I said that Hayley wasn't pretty. It wasn't just how she looked either it was the way that her smile could light up a room and how her eyes sparkled with joy when she laughed. It was also how no matter the situation she was always ready to put others before herself. It also hadn't gone unnoticed that since the start of the year she seemed to be more confident in herself. She was also very bright too, the fact that she took and passed the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes third-year exam with Exceeds Expectations and Outstanding grades respectively at the end of the summer was proof of that.

"I guess I was in shock. It was so sudden and I needed time to process what had just happened"She said sheepishly looking down at the desk nervously messing with the bracelet on her wrist.

Silently I breathed a sigh of relief. I was hopeful that this meant that there was a chance that something could happen between us. I took a breath steadying my nerves before looking back at her."Hayley, I really like you and I would like it if we could give us a try?"I asked her tentatively.

Hayley POV

I was once again shocked and was unable to formulate a sentence for at least a minute. It took me that long to actually process the fact that Blaise had said he liked me, I looked up and found Blaise's deep brown eyes staring straight back at mine. "You really like me?"I said still unable to process it properly

He nodded and hesitantly took one of my hands in his own."I really do"He says smiling

I nodded back."I like you too"I admitted before I could stop myself. I felt myself blush but couldn't stop a smile from spreading over my face."Id like to give us a try too"

After we spent a few hours together in the library we headed to lunch separating as we left the library. We had agreed it was best to see if things would work between us before telling people that we were dating.

 _(Large Time Skip)_

It was the second week in February when I felt confident that I was able to properly cast the spell that I was using to be able to breathe underwater for the second task. I had decided to go with using the bubble head charm and Blaise had helped me research spells a lot and Tonks had helped me learn and practice the spell once I told her what I was planning on doing. She had even helped me practice a locator spell that I could cast once I was underwater to get to the mervillage as quickly as possible. Blaise and I had only been dating for about three weeks when Tonks found out. I had tried to keep it a secret but she had been suspicious that I was keeping something from her for a while until she walked in on the two of us kissing in the astronomy tower. She had interrogated Blaise for about a week before she was sure that he wasn't using me. She did say that I should expect the same thing from Andy and Ted. We both knew that as soon as we told our friends that it would be all over Hogwarts within a few hours or less and we decided that we should tell our families before we broke the news to our friends. We had both sent letters to our families last night and were anxiously waiting for their replies. I knew that as soon it became known that we were dating that Blaise would be used in the second task if it was indeed the person most dear to us that would be _'taken from us'._

During the months since we had been dating, I noticed that although it was sometimes hard to find time to be together it was very much it. When we were together we would spend talking and curled up together reading. In the beginning, I had been hesitant to open up not really knowing exactly how I had felt but after getting to know each other for a few days and spending time together it became clear to me how I felt. Blaise made me feel safe and I could be myself around him.

It was on Friday the 10th and I was leaving dinner with Hermione and Neville when I noticed a large crowd of people gathered in front of the stairs and there were raised voices so we walked over to see what was going on. When we were able to see what was going on I internally groaned and knew that it wasn't going to end well. Ron had picked a fight with Draco and some of his friends Blaise included. It luckily hadn't gotten physical and was just endless insults going back and forth. It wasn't until Ron said something to Blaise about his mother that I got angry and decided to get involved.

"Ron back off. How many times are you going to cause Gryffindor to lose points from picking fights to realise it's pointless and completely unnecessary" I say

"Are you seriously defending Slytherins now Hayley?"Ron asks angrily

"No Ron but you have been acting like a prat since September and I'm frankly sick of it" I shot back glaring at him

"So have you, Hayley. You hid away during summer making everyone worry and then you change your guardians so you can get all the attention from that. Then you enter your name in the goblet and lie about it and act like your so innocent then you go to Malfoy's party even though the two of you are supposed to hate each other. And now you're defending Slytherins of all people. I can't believe you would disgrace the Potter name like that. Your mum and dad would be ashamed of you. I bet there rolling in their graves" He said heatedly

As he finished the crowd was silent and tense as they looked to me wondering how I was going to react. I felt all of my self-control leave me and before I could stop myself I had stepped closer to Ron and punched him in the face. Time felt like it was running in slow motion and I watched as Ron's hand went to his nose which was bleeding and I noticed the shocked looks on everyone's faces. I took a small step backwards and the realisation of what I had just done came crashing in full force.

I heard Professor McGonagall raising her voice and watched out of the corner of my eye as she started to push through the crowd. I quickly took off towards the Astronomy Tower needing to be alone. I knew that they would eventually look for me but it wouldn't be the first place they would look for me giving some time to calm down.

It was less than an hour later when Tonks came up to the Astronomy tower and sat down next to me. "Dumbledores wanting to talk to you in his office. McGonagall is waiting for you downstairs. They also called mum and I should warn you" She says

I nod silently and slowly get to my feet looking at Tonks. "He deserved it you know" I muttered

"I don't doubt it," She says smiling

I smiled hugging her and began heading down the stairs to where Professor McGonagall was waiting for me.

 **Authors Note - Hey Guys hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next chapter should be uploaded next Sunday as it is going to be a shorter one compared to some of the others but after that, the next one will go up on either the 30th of December of the 6th of January. It depends on how long it takes me to write it as it is going to be quite long as I'm writing the second task. Thanks for reading.**


	17. Chapter 17 - Spying in Hogsmeade

_Taking_ _Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

Walking into Dumbledore's office I frowned as I counted the other chairs that sat in front of his desk. There were 7 chairs and three were currently being filled by Andy and Ted. I assumed that three would be for Ron and Mr and Mrs Weasley and one was for me. Professor McGonagall went to stand by Dumbeldore's right and had a look of disappointment on her face. I knew that I should have cared but I was still too annoyed and upset by what Ron had said to really be bothered by her disappointment.

"Miss Potter please take a seat, "Dumbledore says gesturing to the empty seat next to Andy. As I sat down I noticed the same disappointed expression on Ted and Andy's faces but I still didn't care. A few moments of silence went by before Dumbledore spoke up once again.

"We shouldn't be waiting for too much longer. The Weasleys will be joining us as soon as Madame Pomfrey has finished attending to Master Weasley's broken nose and is satisfied that the bleeding has stopped"He says directing the last part to me with a piercing stare. ' _So I managed to break the prat's nose. Maybe I punched him hard enough to knock enough sense into him to get him to stop acting like a jealous git.'_ I thought to myself as my mouth twisted into a smirk resembling Draco's.

It was only a few minutes later when the Weasley's entered the office but due to the complete silence, it felt as though it had been hours. As they sat down on the chairs on the opposite side I clenched my fists slightly as all the hurt, upset and angry feelings that I felt only a few hours earlier immediately came back at the sight of Ron. I took a breath unclenching my fists and cooled my expression from a furious one to a stoic one. I decided to stay quiet when everyone was talking about what happened and appropriate punishments. When it appeared that no one was going to ask me for my side of the story I decided to speak up.

"Excuse me but can I at least tell my side of the story?"I directed towards the two professors

"What do mean Miss Potter.? Master Weasley has already explained what happened"Professor Dumbledore questioned

"I really doubt that considering if he had told you the whole truth then I wouldn't be the only one getting into trouble" I shot back

"Miss Potter, are you claiming that there is more to the story than what we already know?"Professor McGonagall asked me

"Did Ron tell you that before this happened he was picking yet another fight with the Slytherins?"I said with a smile.

I noticed the Weasleys glance at Ron with a frown and I heard Mr Weasley mutter."No, he didn't"

"I didn't think so. I also don't think that he told you that the reason I punched him was that he said and I quote " _I can't believe you would disgrace the Potter name like that. Your mum and dad would be ashamed of you. I bet there rolling in their graves"_

There was complete silence in the room and no-one dared to speak. The first person to speak was Mrs Weasley as she looked at Ron her expression a combination of anger, disappointment and embarrassment.

"Ronald is this true?"She asks quietly

Deciding staying silent was a better option he stayed silent and looked at the floor.

"Ron answer your mother. Did you really say that?"Arthur asks

I notice Ron's shoulders tense up in anger before he looked up at his parents. "All I did was tell her the truth. She's always after attention and then pretends that she hates it. Then she goes and lies about entering the tournament. As if anyone would be stupid to believe that someone entered her name. Then she starts associating with the Malfoys and defending the Slytherins" He argues

As I felt my anger rising again I knew that I wouldn't be able to stay calm for much longer I stood up and headed towards the door.

"Miss Potter where do you think you are going?"Professor McGonagall demands

"If I stay here much longer I'm going to punch him again and a broken nose will be the last of his worries. I don't really care as to what punishment you give me."I said as I opened the door and headed down the stairs again this time heading for the unused classroom that Blaise and I use to meet up when we wanted to spend some time alone without having to worry about people interrupting.

When I got up the next day there was a letter from Ted and Andy as we hadn't managed to speak to each other yesterday as I had stormed out of the office before we could talk. Andy scolded me for punching Ron and then walking out of the meeting but then proceeded to write at the end of it that my parents would be proud of me for sticking up for myself and that my mum had done similar things when people made remarks about her heritage. There was also a note from Professor McGonagall saying that even though I was provoked and that Ron had said things that were completely out of order I would still be given a detention. The good thing was that Ron had also been given a detention. His detention was with Filch and mine was with Professor Snape. At this point last year I would have absolutely hated having to serve detention with Professor Snape but after everything that has happened, I didn't mind it. It also meant that I might get the chance to talk to Snape about whether he knows anything about why Voldemort went after my parents and why he seems to be fixated on killing me.

The detention was that night after dinner so I had the day to relax as all my homework was up to date and I felt confident about the second task so I would be able to go on the Hogsmeade visit without having to worry about things. Blaise and I had wanted to go together but we hadn't yet decided if we were going to reveal that we were dating to people just yet. Ted and Andy had written back and were supportive of the relationship and so was Mrs Zabini. The main thing that was stopping us from revealing our relationship was the amount of backlash and negative attention it would undoubtedly get mainly from the Slytherins and Gryffindors and we didn't want to go through loads of drama.

I got dressed and went for some breakfast and as it was Valentines day in three days a lot more people were going quite early whether with their girlfriend/boyfriend or to get a last minute gift and the number of stares and whispers that greeted me as I walked in and sat down at the Gryffindor table was so annoying it took all of my self-control not to snap.

I was considering asking Nevile or perhaps even going on my own when Viktor approached me asking if we could talk in private. Nodding we headed outside towards the lake so we could talk alone.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"I asked him once we were outside.

"What sort of things does Hermione like?"He asks.

I scrunched my brow frowning at the unexpected question."What do you mean?"

"What sort of things does she like. Gift-wise I mean?"He clarifies

"It depends. Why?"I asked having an idea

"Valentine's day is in three days and I don't know what to get her"He explains

Unable to stop a smile forming on my face I nodded."So are you two actually dating then?"

"Not yet but I want to ask her on Valentines Day so I want to make sure I get her something she really likes, "He says nervously

"Viktor don't worry I am sure that Hermione will love whatever you get her. It's the thought that counts but if you really want some help we can go to Hogsmeade and find something for her?"I suggest

"Hermione won't be there?"He frowns

"No, she said this morning that she's going to stay at the castle to do some more studying."I shake my head

About an hour and a half later we met up in one of the shops in Hogsmeade to look for a gift for Hermione. I also decided to look for a gift for Blaise while I was out shopping and was able to get Viktor's opinion as I had never needed to buy a gift for a boyfriend before. We made sure to stay away from people as much as possible not wanting people to start rumours about the two of us.

During shopping, the two of us got talking mostly about Quidditch and we decided to get a group of our friends together to have a mini Quidditch game. If we hadn't been so engrossed in our conversation we might have noticed a small black beetle with green eyes situated on one of the wooden shelves in a number of the stores that we visited.

 **Authors Note - Hey Guys hope you enjoyed it and sorry about the short chapter. I have some fun ideas and plots happening in upcoming chapters and with the exception of Chapter 18 which will include the second task the next few will be on the shorter side so that I'm not putting too much into one chapter. Over the next month or so I will be randomly selecting 5 or so people from my follower's list every two weeks and PMing them to have an OC included in an upcoming chapter so keep an eye out on your inbox and of course, make sure to follow to be in with a chance.** **Thanks for reading.**


	18. Chapter 18 - Valentines and Second Tasks

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine. Thank you to milva281197 for the OC Bio for Lena Zabini.**

Hayley POV

After a few hours of shopping, I decided to head back to the castle to relax until dinner and the detention afterwards. On the walk back I couldn't help but remember the times Hermione, Ron and I spent together in Hogsmeade last year. The fond memories made me sigh as I thought about how different things were just a year apart. Up until last night, I could still have forgiven Ron if he ever came to his senses but now I don't know if I could. Shoving those thoughts out of my head I headed back inside the castle doors as I arrived. Immediately going up to the dorms I put the gift for Blaise in my trunk along with the sweets and other trinkets that I had bought. As I hadn't seen any of my friends in the common room on my way up to the dorms I grabbed the book from Lucius and shrunk it down into my pocket before heading to the unused classroom on the 6th floor that Blaise and I use to meet up. As it was during the weekend I knew that it was unlikely that I would run into any teachers or students. As I slipped into the classroom I shut and locked the door before casting a silencing charm around the room so that if anybody passed they wouldn't be able to hear anything.

Taking the book out of my pocket I re-sized it and placed it on the table in front of me and opened it to the page where I had left the bookmark and began to practice some more of the spells. I had been hoping when I first read the book that there might have been a spell that could have helped me in the second task but there hadn't been any so far so I moved on to other books, charms and Transfiguration specifically. I still hadn't told anyone about Lucius giving me the book although I suspected that Lucius might have told Snape because he kept giving me strange looks.

It was around 2 hours later when I heard Hermione's voice in my head asking me where I was and that dinner was about to start. I knew that I wouldn't have time to go up to the dorms to put my book back and make it down to dinner on time so I quickly shrunk it back down putting it into my pocket before cancelling all of the spells on the door and heading down to the Great Hall. Luckily I arrived just on time along with a group of about 5 other students so I didn't stick out as I headed over to where Hermione and Neville were sat saving me a seat next to them.

"Hayley where were you?"Hermione asked

"Nowhere. I was just exploring and time got away from me" I lied

She frowned slightly but nodded nonetheless.

Dinner went by mostly uneventfully with general talk about what we had done that day as we hadn't actually seen each other since breakfast which was unusual as lately, we had spent the majority of each day with each other. Normally if I had detention after dinner I would leave in just enough time to get there exactly on time but this time I had finished eating early and I noticed that Professor Snape had just left so I thought I might as well go now. I told Hermione and Neville that I would meet them in the common room after my detention before I stood up and began heading down to the dungeons.

I arrived at the detention about 15 minutes early and knocked on the door of Professor Snape's office and waited. A few seconds later I heard him say "Enter" from the other side of the door so I opened the door and walked inside. Professor Snape was currently sat at his desk and he looked up at me with an unreadable expression. "Take a seat, Miss Potter"

I took a breath and sat down in the black leather chair opposite Professor Snape who was sitting on what looked to be an identical chair. The desk was a deep brown-almost black wood with everything meticulously organised. The office walls were lined with various potions of all colours, bottled ingredients such as animal and plant parts, some in liquids and some dry. Over to one side was a large jet black cauldron placed on top of a dark brown desk similar in colour to the one we were sat at but slightly lighter in colour and worn from what was clearly years of use. Aside from the cauldron, the desk held multiple other pieces of equipment for potion brewing. Much like the desk, everything was perfectly in place. The wall behind the desk contained a large bookshelf containing several books some of which were old or worn from age/use and others that were leather bound and looked new. The office was quite imposing and intimidating.

"Professor, what is it that you are having me do in detention?"I ask wanting to get started

He looks straight at me with a piercing stare before responding."I agreed to oversee your detention, Miss Potter because Mr Malfoy asked me to assist you with practising some of the spells in the book that he gave you and I felt this was the best way for us to meet without the headmaster becoming suspicious" He explained.

I nodded and smiled ever so slightly."So you knew about the book. I thought that you might"

He nods."I have a copy of the book so that we can begin going over some of the spells"He says gesturing to the parchment that was on his left.

"I was practising some of the spells before dinner and I didn't have time to take it back to my dorm so I actually have it with me, "I said taking the book out of my pocket and resizing it again.

We went over a number of the spells in the book for just under two hours before it was around time for me to head back to the common room before curfew. We agreed that once or twice a month Professor Snape would give me a detention for something during Potions Class so that we could continue practising. At the end of each session, he would give me a list of spells that he wanted me to attempt and improve on. As I was headed towards the door I quickly remembered something and turned back to him.

"Professor, can I ask you something?"I ask

He frowns slightly but nods anyway.

"Over Christmas, I asked Lucius if he knew why you -know -who came after my family and I and why he seems to be so fixated on killing me. He didn't know what but he said that you might be able to tell me?"I explained nervously

He sighed and looked down momentarily."I do know why but I cannot tell you right now. You are too young to understand everything about the situation but I will tell you eventually"He says hesitantly

I sigh and nod deciding not to argue."Okay thank you" I say as I leave

After I got back at the common room both Hermione and Neville were waiting for me wanting to know how the detention had gone.

"So how was it?"Hermione asked

"He just had me cleaning cauldrons that's all" I shrugged

This caused them both to mutter under there breath about unfair punishments while I sighed. I hated lying to them but I didn't want anyone finding out about the book and the fewer people that knew the better. If people found out about the book and the type of spells that were in the book the newspaper would have an absolute field day reporting that the Girl Who Lived was in possession of and learning questionable spells. The added fact that it was from the Malfoys would just add more fuel to the flames. We hung out for a few hours before we all went to bed.

It was the next morning at breakfast when almost everything in my life that was going right started to go completely wrong. I was up late for breakfast and by the time I got there it was already nine but luckily breakfast ran until ten on a weekend. As I entered I briefly saw Hermione run out of the Great Hall. She looked to be crying but I couldn't be sure. I frowned and walked into the Hall and headed over to the table. As I entered I noticed that the eyes of almost everyone in the hall glanced at me and many people started whispering. I sat down next to Neville not noticing the multiple copies Sunday Prophet on the table.

"Neville is Hermione okay. I just saw her run out of here and it looked like she was crying"I said concerned as I reached for some juice.

"Hayley I think you might want to read this," He says handing me a copy of the Prophet.

Frowning I took it from him and started to read the article that he had pointed out.

 _Girl Who Lived ... To be a Heartbreaker_

 _"As Valentine's day approaches many witches and wizards look forward to spending time with their partner. This is felt strongly all over the country but especially at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students in their third year or above with written permission from their parent or guardian are permitted to visit the local town of Hogsmeade during pre-scheduled weekends and many choose to use the weekend before Valentines Day to spent time with their partner. Just yesterday the Girl Who Lived, Miss Hayley Potter was spotted spending the day in Hogsmeade with fellow Triwizard Tournament competitor, World Class Seeker and Bulgarian Bon Bon, Viktor Krum. The two lovebirds were spotted talking and laughing together lovingly over lunch. The news is surprising enough considering the two lovebirds are both competitors but when added with the knowledge that both competitors had other dates for the Yule Ball. Miss Potter took Ravenclaw classmate Cyrus Lovegood and Mr Krum took Gryffindor 4th year Hermione Granger - One of Miss Potter's best friends. Both seemed to enjoy their evenings with their respective dates and appearing to be in love with their dates. One would begin to question Miss Potter's moral values when she deceives friends and classmates. Is she perhaps faking feelings for the Bulgarian Bon Bon as well? How long will it be until Miss Potter has moved onto another guy?"_

As I read through the article I could feel my anger growing with each line that I read. By the end, my fists were clenched holding the newspaper in a death-like grip as though it was Skeeter herself. I immediately scrunched up the newspaper into a small ball and as I stood up I threw it into the fireplace to the left of the Gryffindor Table. I ran out of the hall needing to escape the whispers and stares of the students in the Great Hall.

After leaving the Great Hall I headed outside to the Black Lake glad that I had the foresight to wear warm clothes as it was still extremely cold due to it only being February. I stayed outside for a while using magic to throw small rocks and stones into the lake. It now made sense as to why Hermione was crying. Reading the article despite knowing what sort of rubbish Skeeter writes she wouldn't have any reason to doubt it seeing as she didn't know that I was currently dating Blaise and that Viktor and I had been in Hogsmeade so I could help Viktor buy her a gift. I could only hope Blaise would know that I wasn't cheating on him. After about an hour I cast a warming charm on myself to stop myself from freezing as I didn't really have any intentions of going back inside just yet. It was about another 2 hours and several warming charms later that I finally decided to go back inside.

I didn't feel like going to lunch with everyone staring and whispering so I decided to head to the kitchens to get something to eat instead. I still didn't feel like talking to anybody after lunch and knowing that Hermione would need time to calm down I decided to go up to the Astronomy Tower knowing that if Tonks wasn't already there waiting for me, she would be soon. I sat up there for about 30 minutes before I heard the door open behind me. I could tell that it wasn't Tonks instantly as the footsteps were too light. As the footsteps got closer I let a smile grace my lips now knowing it was Blaise. Blaise always smelled like a combination of pine and leather. Before I could say anything he was sat next to me and his arm around my back holding me. I rested my head on his shoulder and I could feel his embrace tighten slightly as he held me close. We stayed like that for a while not even needing to say a word.

"So I'm guessing that this means you don't believe the article, "I say quietly

"Of course I don't"He replies softly

"Good, I don't know what I would have done if you did"I smiled

"You don't have to worry about that. I will always believe you" He says

After a few moments of silence, Blaise speaks up again."If you want I can write to my uncle to see if there's anything that can be done about the article?"

I shake my head lifting it from his shoulder."There's no point the damage is already done"

He nods taking my hands."As long as your sure"

I nod smiling as he placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Blaise, I want to ask you something?"I ask cautiously

"Of course"He replies

"If you're okay with it, how would you feel if we went public about our relationship?"I ask hesitantly

"Hayley are you sure. If we went public it would be all over the school in under an hour. Not to mention all the press" He said

"I know and if you don't want to we don't have to but I mean the students and the press are already talking about the fact that I'm in a relationship. If it is going to happen I'd rather it be facts rather than fiction" I said smiling

He smiles at me."If you really want to then we can. I just want to make sure that you really want to"

"I want to, "I say

"Okay then, "He says nodding

"Let's not do it straight away though. Let's wait a few days. I want to let things die down and I need to talk to Hermione, Viktor and Cyrus about everything first okay"

"That's can do it whenever you want, "He says

We kiss for a few minutes but quickly realise that it isn't the best place considering that anyone could walk in at any minute and find us so we decide to go to the classroom on the 6th floor one at a time so that we aren't spotted together. After spending the rest of the afternoon until dinner together we parted ways. Blaise headed down to the Great Hall while I headed up to the common room knowing that it would be empty while everyone was at dinner. After arriving I headed up to the dorms and pulled the curtains around my bed and sat reading the book from Lucius.

Soon after dinner, I heard Lavender and Parvati come up to the dorms talking before leaving soon after and around 5 minutes after I heard the door open again and I knew that it had to be Hermione as Lavender and Parvati were never that quiet. I quickly put the book under my pillow before pulling back my curtains.

"Hermione can we please talk, "I ask hopefully

Even though her back is to me I hear her sigh and look down at the floor before turning to face me."I guess so"

"Firstly I need you to know that Viktor and I aren't dating."I start

"Then why were you in Hogsmeade together?"She asked

"He asked me for my help with buying a gift for someone for Valentine's day, "I explain

"Who?"She asked curiously and I could detect hope in her eyes.

"I don't know. He didn't say"I lied shrugging

She nods."So you weren't 'talking and laughing together lovingly over lunch'?"

I shook my head."We were talking and laughing over lunch yes but not lovingly. We were talking about Quidditch mostly. We're just friends that's all. I've actually been in a relationship with someone for over a month now"

"Really who?"

"If I say you can't tell anyone and you have to promise not to freak out, "I say seriously

"Hayley relax I won't tell anyone."She says honestly

"Promise not to freak out?"I say again

"Yes, I won't freak out. Just tell me already. It can't be that bad, I mean It's not as if your dating a Slytherin or anything"She says

At my hesitance, her eyes widen and she quickly speaks again."Oh my god. You are dating a Slytherin. Please tell me it's not Malfoy"

I shake my head."It's not Malfoy. It's Blaise Zabini"I finally relent

She takes a few moments to process the information."Oh. Isn't he one of Malfoy's cronies?"

"No. There sort of friends mainly because their mothers are friends. He's kinda reclusive and prefers to be on his own most of the time"I explain sitting down

She nods."How did you two meet then?"

"At the Malfoy's new years party. We were both trying to avoid the crowds of people and we got talking. He's really nice underneath that cold Slytherin exterior"I smile

She notices the smile and smiles herself."You really like him don't you"

I notice that it isn't really a question more of an observation and I nod."I do. We've only been dating for about a month but it feels as though I've known him my whole life. He makes me so happy and when I'm with him all the pieces in my life seem to just fit together"

It was about 40 minutes later when Ginny came up to the dorm saying that Cyrus was at the portrait door wanting to talk to me so I stood up and headed down to the exit of the common room to talk to him.

"Hey Cyrus," I said as I exited out of the portrait door.

"Hey, I noticed that you were really upset about the article so I thought I would come and talk to you about it. I tried looking for you earlier but no one had seen you since"He explained

I smiled."Thanks, Cyrus. I needed to be on my own to give myself time to think. Are you okay, I'm sorry that you got dragged into the craziness that is my life"

"I'm okay. There's no need to apologise. I don't trust a word that Skeeter writes and neither does anyone in my family"He waves off

"Thank you, "I say

"It's okay. Besides, I know that you're not dating Krum because he is so not your type and I happen to know there's something going on between you and a certain Slytherin" He says with a knowing smirk

I am momentarily rendered speechless"How did you know?"

"The first weekend back after Christmas you seemed a lot happier and cheerier. I first thought that you were just happy after seeing your family but then I noticed that you kept taking quick glances and smiles towards the Slytherin table during meals. Then I saw you heading up to the Astronomy tower after dinner last week and then Blaise went up a few minutes going up a few minutes later"He explained smiling

"Why didn't you say anything?"I asked surprised

"Well, I figured it wasn't my place to say anything and I was happy for you. After everything you have gone through this year alone you deserve to be truly happy for once"He said genuinely

"Thanks, Cyrus, "I say giving him a hug

By the time Valentines Day rolled around 2 days later the hype from Sunday's article had started to die down. People weren't staring as much and if people were talking about the article they were being much more discreet about it. As I got dressed I thought about the classes that I had today. I had Potions first followed by Arithmancy. Then I had a free period followed by Charms. After charms were lunch, then I was supposed to have History of Magic which I was planning on skipping anyways. Normally first - fourth years would have another subject afterwards that would finish at four o'clock while fifth- seventh years finish an hour later with the occasional free period rather than an actual lesson. They had decided that as it was Valentine's day and a celebratory feast had been planned each year's respective final class would be cancelled so everyone would get to finish an hour earlier than normal.

So after lunch ended my day would technically be over. I had decided to spend the hour where I would be in History of Magic in the library finishing the latest homework assignments for History of Magic and Potions which were due in during class on Thursday and Friday respectively. Luckily I only had about two paragraphs left to wrote for each so I could easily get them finished today.

Hermione, Neville and I were all sat at breakfast together but I didn't really have much of an appetite due to nerves. The feast at dinner tonight was going to be different than others because rather than being seated at our House tables we were going to be sat on circular tables similar to the ones we were sat at for the Yule ball and everyone would be able to sit with either their respective partner. Blaise and I had discussed it last night and had decided to sit together. I was looking forward to not having to sneak around in order to see Blaise but I was still really nervous that everyone would know. I wasn't embarrassed or ashamed I just didn't want to have to deal with the drama of another article about my love life. There would be a small dance after dinner but it wouldn't be as formal as The Yule ball had been so that was good. When lunch rolled around I still didn't really have much of an appetite and rather than eating in the Great Hall I went to the kitchen so I could eat on my own. After eating I headed to the library to finish off my Potions and History of Magic homework.

That evening Hermione and I got ready together. I wasn't dressing in anything to fancy but I had a few nice dresses that would work for the dance. Hermione wasn't going to bother as she didn't have a partner but I was able to convince her to dress nicely with the excuse that it would be fun and that someone might ask her to dance. I tamed her hair slightly and pinned it back in a nice bun and convinced her to put a little bit of makeup on. I let her borrow one of the dresses that I had asked Andy to post after Viktor had told me that he was asking Hermione to be his girlfriend. It was a dark blue dress with lace at the top and went to just above her knees at the front but was longer at the back and a simple pair of silver heels. I had my hair in a french plait over my shoulder and was wearing a little bit of makeup too. My dress was a red lacey cold shoulder dress that hit just above my knees and I wore some simple black heels.

When it was time to go down to dinner we headed down together and I remembered to grab Blaise's presents from my trunk and placed it in my small black velvet pouch that I wore around my wrist that had a feather-light and an undetectable extension charm on. When we got down to the entrance hall I noticed Viktor waiting standing with a few of his friends from Durmstrang. Hermione headed into the Great Hall which had been decorated for the occasion and went to sit at a table where Neville, Ginny, Luna and Cyrus where already sat while I went over to where Blaise and I were meeting.

I was waiting for only a minute or two when Blaise came over and I smiled. We kissed and I was glad that we had chosen to meet slightly out of the way of everyone else. We talked for a few minutes so I could calm my nerves before we linked arms and we walked in together. I knew that there were a few people already staring but I ignored them and focused my gaze elsewhere. As we sat down I was able to let out a slightly nervous breath and was able to focus on talking to my friends. When the dancing started after dinner Blaise and I shared a dance but luckily Blaise noticed how uncomfortable I was with how much people were staring so we decided to head up to the Astronomy Tower so we could be alone and exchange gifts in private. We sat in the tower looking out at the stars glad that there were hardly any clouds in the sky. After talking for a while we exchanged presents. Blaise had told me once that as he was getting older he was having to attend more high-class social events due to his mother's insistence and therefore I had decided to get him a set of three cufflinks. One pair was silver with emeralds, the second was gold with diamonds and the third was black with sapphires. The emeralds were to represent him being in Slytherin, the diamonds were to represent his birthstone and the sapphires were to represent his mother's birthstone. Blaise had gotten me two bracelets and a notebook. The bracelets both had a silver band with one having rubies to represent my birthstone and the other had blue amber stones. The notebook was made out of black leather and had a lily design on the front.

 _ **(Small Time Skip)**_

The day of the second task had arrived and I was extremely nervous. I felt sick to my stomach and had little to no appetite but I knew that doing the task on a completely empty stomach wouldn't be a good thing either so I managed to eat a few slices of toast and jam. Since revealing that Blaise and I were dating there had been a lot of whispers and stares for the first day or so but had luckily calmed down. Ron and a few of the Gryffindors were still giving me grief about it but I mostly ignored everything they said. Tonks who was very good at transfiguration had taught me how to transfigure my feet into flippers to help me swim faster and made sure that I could cast the bubble head charm perfectly. I knew when I got down to breakfast and saw that Blaise wasn't there that it was definitely someone that we would sorely miss rather than something. I also noticed that Hermione was missing which lead me to believe that she had been chosen as Viktor's hostage. I left breakfast earlier than I needed to so I could walk slowly down to the lake. As I headed outside I saw someone stood in the entrance hall next to the Great Hall. She looked familiar and it took me a few moments but I was able to recognise her as Blaise's cousin Lena. Blaise had told me about her a few weeks ago but we had yet to properly meet. I walked over to her and smiled.

"Hi, it's Lena right?. Your Blaise's cousin"I ask

I watch as she nods shyly."Yes, I am. Do you happen to know where he is? I know you're his girlfriend" She asks timidly

I sigh slightly and nod."I'm just about to walk down to the lake for the second task. Would you like to come with me and I can explain things on the way?"

As we head outside the castle and I explain where Blaise is and his involvement in the task.

"You will get him back safely won't you?"She asks and I can easily detect the concern and worry in her voice

"Lena I promise you that I will get Blaise back safely, "I say honestly

By this time we were already halfway to the lake where we would get in wooden boats that would take us out to the platforms that were in the middle of the lake. As the tournament was due to start in around 30-40 minutes we continued on towards the boat as I knew that most people would be starting to head down pretty soon anyway. When we reached the boats at the edge of the lake I was able to see a few tournament officials and Aurors already on the platforms making sure things were ready. We waited by the boats for another ten minutes until a few more people showed up. The first people to show up were Fleur and Madame Maxine. The four of us got into one of the boats that was magically enchanted to set off towards the platforms after it was tapped with a wand. It was a few minutes later when we arrived at the centre platform. Fleur and Madame Maxine got off first and then I got out before helping Lena out. As I bid goodbye to Lena and she headed up the stairs to one of the spectator decks. I walked over to the main area taking a seat as I waited for things to begin. In between watching the water and trying not to picture Blaise down in the water, I looked over at Fleur who rather than looking calm and composed like I was accustomed to seeing her she looked extremely nervous. I stood up and walked over to her and sat next to her."Are you okay Fleur?"

She looked at me and shook her head."No. I am very nervous about this task. Veela's are fire-based creatures and are weakened when in water. Even though I am only a quarter Veela the effect is similar. I am also scared about Gabrielle" She explains

"That's your little sister right?"I clarify

She nods."I realised this morning that the person who is most dear to us was taken as a hostage for us to rescue"

"I realised that too when Blaise wasn't at breakfast," I say

"Blaise is your boyfriend?"She says

I nod."I'm worried that if we are unable to rescue them in the hour that there going to be in danger. After all the riddle said, " _But past an hour the prospect's black, too late it's gone It won't come back"._

Within the next 20 minutes, the platforms filled up as more people arrived to watch. Each champion was allowed, 2 friends on the main platform with them for support before the tournament started. Fleur had 1 of her friends from Beauxbatons, Madeline and her boyfriend Declan. Cedric had two of his friends Andrew and Noah. Viktor had decided against having people with him on the platform, choosing to stand on his own with his headmaster. I had Neville and Ginny stood with me. I had asked Cyrus but he declined, saying that he was going to be staying with Luna. When Dumbledore started a speech to introduce the task I took off my burgundy hoodie that was over my black and gold swimming costume. Ginny took my hoodie from me and placed it on the chair so that I could put it back on after the task. I shivered slightly and quickly cast a warming charm over myself. I knew that it wouldn't last long and would be rendered useless after about 30 minutes in the water but at least it would work for a little bit. When Dumbledore ended his speech there was a horn signalling the start of the hour and the 4 of us dove into the lake. As soon as I dove into the lake I quickly cast the bubblehead charm and the spell to transfigure my feet into flippers. I noticed that both Fleur and Cedric had also chosen to use the bubblehead charm and Viktor had partially transfigured himself into a shark. Once I had cast the spell I quickly began swimming towards the Merfolk village. I overtook Fleur due to my flippers helping me to swim faster but I didn't see Cedric or Viktor after we first initially dived into the water.

After swimming for a while I finally approached the merfolk village and began to swim towards the centre where I assumed the hostages would be. During the swim, I hadn't seen anyone else since I overtook Fleur and I hoped that they were all okay. I soon arrived at a set of 4 stone merpeople where each of the hostages were tied to the tail. They looked to be unharmed and appeared to be in some kind of sleep state but I was still unsure as to what would happen after the hour was up. I swam over to Blaise and cast Diffindo on the rope holding him before grabbing his arm. I stayed for a few moments to look around to see if any of the others were arriving as I didn't want to leave anybody behind. Just as I made my mind up to leave Cedric swam over and began to free Cho and just as he freed her Viktor showed up. As he had partially transfigured himself he was having difficulty freeing Hermione so I passed him a sharp rock that was laying by the statues. Cedric began to swim back with Cho and Viktor did the same thing after freeing Hermione. As they began to swim back to the surface I noticed that Fleur still hadn't arrived and I was beginning to worry. If she was okay she should have been here by now. After glancing towards Gabrielle and then back at Blaise I pointed my wand at the ropes binding Gabrielle severing them as I had done with Blaise. When I did this a few of the Merfolk hissed and pointed their tridents at me threateningly. I grabbed Gabrielle's arm with my other hand and began to swim as quickly as I could while holding them both. I noticed that the Merfolk were following me but as I swam out of whatever the village boundaries were they stopped following. I continued to swim but quickly grew tired and swam much slower. Just as the lake surface became clearer I was suddenly surrounded by a large group of grindylows. I knew that I wouldn't be able to fight them off while holding both Blaise and Gabrielle. I quickly let go and pushed them up so they would float up to the surface while I fought off the grindylows.

Ginny(POV)

About 20 minutes into the task Fleur had resurfaced alone after getting attacked by the grindylows. She had been hysterical and severely upset due to her fears about her sister. She had tried to dive back into the lake but her headmistress had restrained her in order to stop her. I watched as the large clock that was provided for the task struck signalling the end of the hour. I exchanged a worried glance with Neville as no one had yet resurfaced. One minute after the hour Cedric resurfaced with Cho Chang who was his hostage. They swam towards the platform and were both helped up onto the deck before being given towels and checked over. About two minutes after Viktor surfaced with Hermione and the process repeated. After Madame Pomfrey had checked that she was okay she came over to stand with us and I could tell she was worried that Hayley hadn't yet come back considering Viktor had told her that Hayley had arrived at the village first. It was a further 5 minutes later when two more people surfaced from the lake. I was immediately relieved but when I looked closer we all realised that it wasn't Hayley. It was Blaise and Fleur's sister Gabrielle. They were brought up onto the platform and Fleur immediately started fussing over her sister. We all became much more worried that Hayley hadn't yet surfaced. That worry was intensified when the gem in the centre of the communication rings that Hermione and Neville were wearing changed colours from gold to red indicating that Hayley was injured.

Draco(POV)

I was sat on the middle spectator deck watching the task waiting for something interesting to happen. I was with a group of friends and we had resorted to playing Exploding Snap and Wizard's chess to entertain us for the hour. I had been mildly interested when the Delacour girl had returned after about 20 minutes. I had been unable to hear why but it seemed as though she had been attacked by one of the creatures in the lake. About a minute after the hour Diggory returned with his hostage and shortly after Krum returned with the Granger girl. I was beginning to worry that Hayley hadn't returned with Blaise yet. It was about 5 minutes later when Blaise surfaced with a young girl who I deducted had to be the hostage of the Delacour girl. They looked similar so I assumed they were likely siblings. That had me stand up nervously as I waited for Hayley to resurface. I had almost been tempted to go down to the bottom deck to ask Diggory or Krum where Hayley was as they had been the last to see her down there but the fact that hardly anyone knew that I and Hayley were family/friends stopped me. As I consoled myself with the knowledge that Hayley was still alive as the gem hadn't changed to black I felt my heart drop and my breath became caught in my throat when I looked at the ring and saw it had changed to red and it took all of my will to not dive in the lake to help her.

Hayley(POV)

Fairly soon after I began to fight off the Grindylows it was clear that I was outnumbered and was getting attacked from all sides. I had felt several scratches on my legs and arms and the fight was wearing me down and my movements were becoming much slower and sluggish. I felt a searing pain spread through my body as two of the grindylows sank their teeth into my shoulder and ankle. The pain somehow brought me back to my senses and I remembered a spell from the book that I had been practising on my own and with Professor Snape. I focused as much as I could and cast a spell that was similar to Diffindo but rather than having to aim at an individual target, would instead spread out in 360 degrees and cut anyone/anything that was nearby. This gave me the opportunity I needed to swim upwards the rest of the way to the surface.

As I resurfaced above the water I breathed in relief and weakly cancelled the bubblehead charm and transfigured my feet back to normal. I attempted to swim back to the platform but due to the injuries from the grindylow attack, I had barely enough energy to keep myself above the water. I saw Blaise jump into the water before swimming over to me and dragging me over the edge of the platform where Cedric and Viktor pulled me up onto the deck. I barely registered people talking to me and wrapping towels around me before I closed my eyes letting darkness consume me.

Blaise(POV)

When I noticed Hayley surface above the water I was extremely relieved but I noticed that she was struggling to stay afloat and she looked injured and paler than usual. I quickly shrugged off the towels and jumped in to pull her over to the edge of the platform where Cedric and Viktor helped pull her up onto the deck. As I got back onto the deck and knelt at her side I saw that her arms and legs were covered in several long scratches and her left shoulder and right ankle were both bleeding from what looked to be deep bite marks. Madame Pomfrey hurried over and began examining the wounds while I moved the hair out of her face and began talking to her to try and keep her awake. She didn't respond to anything and soon fell unconscious.

Hayley(POV)

The first thing I recognised as I woke up was the pain I felt in my shoulder and ankle. I hissed as I shifted slightly and a jolt of pain ran through my body. I slowly forced my eyes open before quickly shutting them as I was assaulted by a blinding light. I tried again a few moments later and the light was now less harsh. I heard what sounded like Madame Pomfrey speaking before I felt my glasses being handed to me. I slowly slid them onto my face and I was able to see things much clearer. I was now able to focus on what was being said to me enough to respond.

"How are you feeling Miss Potter?"Madame Pomfrey asked looking at me carefully

"Okay, I guess. My shoulder and ankle hurt but only when I move them"I say

She nods."That's good. Feeling pain means that there healing and that there isn't any nerve damage. The bites were quite deep but you luckily didn't lose too much blood. You will still feel quite weak and tired for some time though."She explains

"How long was I out for?"I ask as I slowly attempt to sit up hiding a wince as the movement caused pain once again

"Only a few hours. Your family and friends are outside waiting" She says

"Can I see them?"I ask

"If you're sure that you feel up to visitors then of course"She nods

She went outside and then came back in a few moments later clearly after talking to them about how I was. She then went into her office while Dora, Andy and Tonks came over to my bed. We spoke for some time about how I was and what happened. Not long later though Andy had to leave for work but said that she would hopefully see me tomorrow if I hadn't already been allowed to leave. Dora had to go and back on duty and Ted also decided to take his leave so that I could see my friends. My friends came in after they left and they all stood around my bed. They all wore similar expressions of worry and concern and a few had been crying. We sat and talked and I asked them about what had happened after I had passed out.

"Well Madame Pomfrey brought you to the hospital wing and Blaise and Dora went with you. The rest of us stayed to hear the results of the task"Ginny explained

"What were the scores?"I asked

"Apparently the Merchieftainess explained to the judges that you had arrived at the hostages first but stayed behind the rescue Gabrielle when Fleur never arrived. Fleur came last, Viktor came third, Cedric came first and you came second. Even though you came back last they gave you second place for outstanding moral fibre" Neville explained

"Did they say anything about the final task?"I ask

They shook their heads."Just that the next task would take place on the 24th of June"Hermione said

It wasn't long later that I felt tired again and began to fall asleep so my friends took their leave. A few hours later after waking up and Madame Pomfrey bringing me something to eat Fleur visited. Fleur's eyes were red and puffy and it was obvious that she had been crying a lot and when she came in she started to cry again.

"Fleur don't cry"I smile

"I'm sorry this is all my fault, Hayley," She says sitting on the chair next to my bed.

"Fleur this isn't your fault. You are not responsible for this at all" I say firmly

"But if I had been able to continue the task you wouldn't have felt obligated to save Gabrielle," She says

"Exactly. I'm the one who chose to save her as well, you didn't make me or ask me too"I say

"But you wouldn't have had to make that choice if I had been able to get past the Grindylows," She says looking down at her feet

I sigh."That may be the case. but it doesn't matter, there's no lasting damage apart from a few scars which don't bother me and besides it was the right thing to do. I would hope that if the roles were reversed you would have done the same thing. After all, that is what friends are for"

 **Authors Note - Hey Guys hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had such a fun time writing this chapter. There were so many ideas and plots that I was able to write about. It is officially the longest chapter of the story. I probably won't be attempting another one this size for a while though. The next two/three chapters will be much shorter in comparison. This will be my last chapter upload of 2018. I hope that everyone had enjoyed reading my story so far and will continue to read throughout 2019. I can't believe how much people have enjoyed the story. When I first began writing this story back in late June/early July I had no idea that it was going to be received this well. I had no idea how much fun I would have writing it so I would just like to say thank you to everyone to who reads, reviews, follows and favourites the story. I hope everyone has a happy New Year and I will see you again in 2019!**


	19. Chapter 19 - Nightmare Effects

Taking Chances and Making Changes – Chapter 10

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley (POV)

It was a few days after the task and things were thankfully back to normal. I was glad that the next task wasn't for another 4 months I was looking forward to getting back to some form of normalcy. Even though all the champions had been told that we would be excused from taking our end of year exams I was determined to still do them. I knew that I would be able to do them as the exams would start on the 19th of June and end on the 26th. Almost all of the exams I would be taking would be out of the way before the final task. There would be only two taking place afterwards which were Potions and Ancient Runes. Having four months before the final task meant that I was able to focus on studying for the exams. After classes ended today I was planning on talking to Professor McGonagall and explaining that I still wanted to take the exams. Luckily for me, my final class of the day was Transfiguration and so when class ended and everyone started to file out of the day I stayed back. While slinging my bag over my shoulder I stood up and walked over to where she was sitting at her desk.

"Miss Potter is there something I can help you with?"She asked

"Yes. I know that the champions have been told that we will be excused from our end of year exams but I was wondering if it would be possible for me to still take them?" I explained

She looked at me slightly puzzled."Are you sure Miss Potter?"

I nodded."I'm sure. I mean most of the exams will be done two days before the task and then I have two on the Monday after the task. I think I can do it"

She nodded."You are more than welcome to do so if you wish, Miss Potter."She says. "May I ask what has prompted this sudden change in behaviour regarding your academic performance?"

I sighed."At the beginning of summer, I was looking at some of my previous homework assignments and end of year tests and I realised just how much I was holding myself back. I knew I could do better so I decided to do something about it"I explained

Professor McGonagall smiles at me."I am glad that you realised you were holding yourself back Miss Potter"

"You knew?"I asked surprised

"I had my suspicions. I knew that you couldn't be stupid given how intelligent and talented your mother was. Your father was also quite talented. Although he did have a tendency to focus his talents much in the same way as Mr Fred and George Weasley" She smiles

Apart from ending up in the Hospital Wing things had been going well for me over the past two weeks and so it should have been no surprise to me when things started to go wrong.

Over the next 7 days, I had started having strange dreams and nightmares again. The last time I had them had been towards the end of summer. I had completely forgotten about it as it hadn't happened since and I wanted to focus on school. The dreams were the same as the one at the end of summer only they seemed to last for much longer. It would start off showing a really old house with an overgrown garden. It then switched to being inside what I assumed was the house going up the creaky wooden stairs. I would hear people whispering in a room at the top of the stairs. I was never able to fully make out what they were saying but I was able to make out a few words. My name was one of the words I was able to make out along with tournament,portkey and ritual. I had no idea what it meant but I could guess that it wasn't good. After arriving at the top of the stairs a large snake slithered past and headed towards the room. The door was slightly open but all I could see was the back of a person's head. As the snake slithered inside the door there were a few moments of silence before the door fully opened and I was rooted to the spot in fear. Before I was able to do anything all I saw was a blinding green light and I would wake up in bed panting and covered in sweat.

The dreams happened every night for a full week. The lack of sleep was causing me to become irritable and I would get annoyed and angry at the smallest of things. It was Monday the 6th of March and things went from bad to worse. In addition to not sleeping properly again, I had a major headache and my scar had been burning since the dreams started. I hadn't felt like eating that morning and was struggling to properly pay attention in class. During the first few classes, Ron and Seamus had seen I was in a bad mood and had decided to make it worse. It was during Potions when I finally snapped. I was trying to do my potion correctly but was struggling to focus properly due to the lack of sleep combined with my bad mood. Professor Snape had been walking around examining everyone's Potions and after seeing mine he commented on how bad it was. While he was walking away I muttered under my breath, "Snarky prat".

He had obviously heard me muttering and turned back around so fast I was surprised he didn't have whiplash."What was that Miss Potter?"

At this point, I was unable to hold in my temper and looked straight back at him."You heard me. I said 'snarky prat'"

"30 points from Gryffindor for your poor potion and detention with me for the next 3 nights for your insolence "He barks

"Whatever" I growl under my breath

"Another 10 points for your disrespect. I will not be spoken like that in my own classroom. Collect your things and leave, Miss Potter" He says turning back towards his desk

"Gladly". I collect my things and leave slamming the door on my way out.

I sighed as I walked away from the classroom. The further away I got from the dungeons I felt my anger slowly melt away. I decided to head up to the library to do some work on my assignments as it was supposed to be a double Potions session and I knew that I wouldn't be able to get much homework done over the next few days with having detention with Snape for the next few days. When class ended that day I was surprised when Hermione didn't come and find me to lecture me about my behaviour. I had a feeling that Neville had convinced her to give me some space. I knew that by dinnertime pretty much everyone would know about what happened and even though I was feeling a little bit calmer I knew that I would end up snapping if Hermione gave me a lecture or if people started staring and whispering so I decided to skip dinner and stay in the library. I knew it would be best to send Ted and Andy a letter explaining things so I wrote them a letter while in the library and during dinner when I knew that I could avoid people I sent Hedwig off with the letter.

 **Authors Note - Hey Guys I'm back and I hope everyone had a great New Years and that 2019 is going off to a great start for everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Once again if you have any suggestions or ideas please feel free to review or PM me.**


	20. Chapter 20 - Helping Hands

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine. Thank You to ForestCat21 for the OC submission of Elysia.**

Hayley POV

Not long before dinner was due to finish I started heading down to the dungeons for my detention with Professor Snape. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been to allow myself to snap like that. I knew that at the time I hadn't been bothered as I was so irritated and was at my limit but I shouldn't have acted spoken to him as I had. Looking back I understood that he hadn't meant for his comment to sound as snarly as it had come across but he was probably confused as to why my Potion had been so bad considering I had been doing so much better. I shook myself out of my thoughts as I arrived at his office. I knocked and waited for him to answer.

After I heard a curt 'enter' I went inside shutting the door behind me as I went in. I took a step toward the desk and without looking up from the papers on his desk he spoke. "You will be redoing the potion you were supposed to do in class. There is a cauldron set up over there" He says

I nod and I take out my Potions Book which has the instructions on before setting my bag underneath the desk. I look and see that the ingredients are all laid out on the desk along with the required equipment. I look at the instructions before getting to work. I found that this time around I was able to concentrate more and was much calmer and I was able to actually make the potion correctly.

After I had finished I looked over at Professor Snape."Sir, I have finished"

He stood up and walked over. After a few moments of silent scrutiny, he nodded."Good work. Bottle it up and then clean the workspace. Then you can leave"

I sighed and bottled up the potion before labelling it. I then proceeded to clear away the equipment I had used. As I put my book away in my bag and threw it over my shoulder I carefully placed the vial on his desk and left.

The week continued much the same as it started. The dreams persisted and despite how tired and stressed I was feeling I was able to control my temper and irritability during class. In order to do this, I had to go out to the lake during my free periods or when classes ended for the day so I could angrily throw rocks into the lake. It was during one of these times when I met someone who would get me to open up to someone about these dreams.

I was sat on a chair that I had conjured while throwing small rocks and pebbles into the lake when I noticed her walking towards me. I first noticed that she was a Slytherin and as she got closer I recognised her as Elysia Fawley. She was in the same year as me and we both took the same electives. She didn't sit down but stood to the side silently obviously waiting to see if I would say anything. When I stayed silent and continued throwing the rocks in my hand she faintly sighed and moved to stand in front of me causing me to cease my throwing. I looked at her bored.

"Did you want something?"I ask "Because if you haven't already noticed I'm quite busy" I add

"Clearly," She says sarcastically raising a speculative eyebrow. "You made quite the scene earlier this week, "She says obviously referring to what happened during Potions.

I sighed and looked at her."So, what does it matter?"

"Despite your reckless Gryffindor attitude your not exactly the sort of person to disrespect a teacher like that," She says. "Or at least not to their face"

"Like I said why does it matter. If you're looking for a fight you're out of luck, I'm not in the mood" I said as I threw a rock over the top of her head in anger

She raises another eyebrow again."It matters because people have started to notice that for the past week you have been extremely annoyed and irritated. That means that people are going to purposefully try to get under your skin"

"Why do you care?"I ask sighing

"Despite what people might think I'm not heartless or at least not completely."She explains "It's not hard to notice that you're keeping something to yourself that you don't want anyone else to know, especially your friends"She points out

"Once again what does it matter. I thought Slytherins were supposed to be all secretive and keeping things from people even their friends?"

"No, apart from cunning and ambition a Slytherin's best trait is resourcefulness. Or more specifically knowing their best resources and how to properly use them to their advantage"She smirks

"What's your point?"I ask bored

"It's painfully clear that the best resource you have is your friends. Rather than keeping them oblivious to things, enlighten them."She says turning away

"But what if I don't want to burden them with trivial things?"I say

"If there really your friends, then they won't feel burdened, "She says

I watch her as turns away fully and heads back towards the castle. Once she was out of my sight I laid my head back in the chair slumping and sighing out loud as I began to think about what she had said. She did have a point in that if my friends were proper friends then I should be able to go to them and ask for help without worrying about feeling like a burden. Also as I thought about it more I had always felt stronger when I was surrounded by my friends. And every time I had been in a dangerous situation I had only gotten out of it with the help of my friends. The only actual time I hadn't was when I fought off the Basilisk but even then Fawkes had helped by blinding it.

I sighed again before throwing the last few rocks from my hand into the lake before standing up and vanishing the chair. I grabbed my bag from the floor beside me and slung it over my shoulder and began to head back inside.

 **Authors Note - Hey Guys I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know that it is on the shorter side and probably not as good as previous ones. It took me slightly longer for me to upload as I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to post it or not. The upcoming chapters will hopefully be on the longer side. Thank you again to ForestCat21 for submitting the OC of Elysia. Thanks for reading.**


	21. Chapter 21 - Exam Week

_Taking_ _Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

It had been around 3 months since I had, had strange dreams and nightmares. They were continuous for about two weeks before I relented and told my friends about them. It was now Saturday the 17th and we were all busy with last-minute revision and studying for our exams that would begin on Monday. Neville, Hermione, Blaise, Cyrus and I were all in the library together studying various subjects. We all had very similar exam schedules to each other. We all had the same exams for Monday-Wednesday. The differences were that on the Thursday of that week Neville, Blaise and Hermione had Care of Magical Creatures in the morning. Cyrus, Hermione and I then had Arithmancy after lunch. Then we had no exams on Friday which gave me chance to go over a variety of spells that I might need for the final task on Saturday evening. Then on the following Monday, we all had Potions in the morning and then had our second elective exam in the afternoon. For Neville, it was Divination while the rest of us had Ancient Runes. At the moment we were studying the subjects that we were having the most trouble with. For Neville and Cyrus, it was Potions, for Blaise it was Herbology, Hermione was studying Care of Magical Creatures and I was studying Arithmancy. I was slightly regretting my decision to actually take the exams rather than not having too but I wanted to prove to myself that I could do better and improve my grades. During the exam week we didn't have any other classes so after we finished our exams for the day we had the rest of the day off to allow us to use the extra time to study for our other exams.

Two days later I was putting my hair up in a messy bun and making sure that I had everything I would need for the Charms exam as I grabbed the notes I had made to read over while eating. Hermione, Neville and I headed downstairs from the common room and went to breakfast. As we sat down I glanced around the room and at least half of the room was sat reading either textbooks or notes while eating. For Charms, we all did the theory portion of the exam at the same time and then the practical portion was done individually and went alphabetically. When the Charms exam finished we had about an hour until our History of Magic exam which would take us up until lunch so the 5 of us headed out to the courtyard to refresh our minds ready for our next exam.

By the time Friday rolled around I was glad that I only had two more exams to go until I was done. As we had no classes or exams I stayed in bed later than I normally would and got up around 11 before getting dressed. After getting dressed I went down to the common room and spent some time with the twins and Neville until lunch. Hermione was already at the library doing some studying for Potions and Ancient Runes but would join us for lunch. After lunch Neville, Hermione, Cyrus, Blaise, Fred, George and I went outside and sat by the Black Lake as it was an unusually nice day. While outside in addition to talking and having fun we also went over the different spells that I knew that might be helpful in the final task. After spending the afternoon outside we headed back up to the common room for a bit until dinner.

I woke up around 10 the next day as the final task didn't start until around 8 in the evening. Despite being nervous about the final task I was looking forward to it ending. I was also happy that as it was the final task Ted and Andy were coming to watch. They were arriving a few hours before dinner so I would be able to spend some time with them before the task. I didn't feel like eating any breakfast so I stayed in the common room reading and recapping defensive and offensive spells.

 **Authors Note - Hey Guys I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm sorry that it is quite short but I needed a short filler chapter that briefly covered the exam week. I am so sorry that I haven't uploaded in a while. I wrote this chapter back in February, finished it and started writing the next and then completely forgot to post it. Then I got really busy with college and a really bad case of writer's block. But I will be getting back onto a more consistent schedule now. I will be posting the next chapter on the 22nd of April and the next one after that will be posted on either the 6th of May or on the 13th of May depending on how long it takes me to finish it.**


	22. Chapter 22 - Final Tasks

_Taking_ _Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

After dinner that evening I had gotten ready for the final task in the black tracksuit with scarlet red and gold detailing. It had the Gryffindor crest on the back of the top and a small Hogwarts crest on the front. Each champion was wearing similar outfits only the colour and slightly different styles differing them. Hermione had put my hair in a plait so that it was out of my face for the task.

After I was ready Hermione left the dorm and headed down to the common room giving me a few minutes on my own. I sat on my bed fiddling about with my pendant necklace trying to calm my nerves. Since waking up that morning I had been unable to shake the awful feeling that something bad was going to happen. Shaking my head and putting it down to nerves I stood up from my bed grabbing my wand and headed down to the common room. I talked with my friends for a few minutes before we left. I was meeting Ted and Andy at the Entrance Hall and we were walking down together while my friends went on ahead.

The walk from the entrance hall to the quidditch pitch was quiet and increased my nerves tenfold. After arriving at the quidditch pitch we waited at the entrance where the other champions were waiting with their escorts. Cedric was waiting with his father, Fleur was with Madame Maxine and Viktor was with Karkaroff. We would be announced to the audience one by one and would then enter. We were entering in order of oldest to youngest so I would be entering last. Viktor entered first, Fleur would enter second, Cedric would enter third and I entered last.

As I entered onto the pitch I was struck by the sheer height and intimidation that seemed to radiate off of the maze in waves. I looked around at the crowd that was gathered in the stands facing the maze. As Dumbledore started his introductory speech I could help but think to myself how boring the second and third tasks had been for the spectators. The second task they were just sat there watching a lake surface for just over an hour and the same thing was happening for the final task, just sat waiting for people to return. I zoned back in as Dumbledore began talking about the rules of the final tasks. They would enter into the maze at one of the four entrances going in place order. As I and Cedric were joint first we would enter at the same time, followed by Victor in second and Fleur last. If at any point we could not continue with the task all we would need to do is send red sparks up into the air to signal. The first person the find and touch the goblet of fire within the maze would be crowned the winner.

I took a breath and tried to calm my nerves as Cedric and I walked towards our respective entrances. We looked in each others direction giving the other a small nod of good luck before, on Dumbledores signal, both headed into the maze.

Once inside the maze, I quickly took out my wand keeping a tight grip on it as I walked through the maze. "Lumos".

I watched as the end of my wand lit up making it much easier to see where I was going within the maze.

I knew that getting lost in the maze was going to be inevitable but to make it slightly easier on myself I remembered the colour change spell and would change a small section of the hedge a different colour whenever I came to a crossroad so that I would know which exits I had taken and which ones I hadn't.

Soon enough I came across my first obstacle. As I turned left at my first set of crossroads I was faced with a dementor. As I was about the cast the Patronus charm I hesitated and realised the chances of it being a real dementor were quite slim, so I changed tactics and quickly cast a different spell.

"Riddikulus" I cast watching as the boggart changed form from a dementor to tapdancing monkey. The sight made me laugh and I watched pleased as the boggart disappeared and I carried on through the maze. Not long after encountering the boggart I came across my next obstacle. It was a sphinx. As I neared it I readied myself knowing that I would have to answer a riddle correctly in order to continue. As if sensing my presence began to speak.

"You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring.I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?"The sphinx questioned

Frowning I began to think of things that those clues might relate to. After about a minute or so I look back up at the sphinx knowing that I have the answer.

"A candle, "I say confidently

I smile as I watch the sphinx move to one side allowing me to pass and continue on further through the maze.

After some time I was walking along becoming frustrated with the whole task I heard a scream coming from nearby. I quickly ran in the direction of the scream recognising it as Fleur. When I arrived I saw Fleur on the floor thankfully appearing unharmed apart from a few cuts and scratches which I put down to the obstacles in the maze. I checked her pulse and was pleased to find that she was just unconscious. After seeing that no one was in the immediate vicinity from what I could tell I sent red sparks into the air so that one of the teachers or aurors would know she was in trouble before continuing. I kept an extra vigilant lookout as I walked away. I had a bad feeling about Fleur being unconscious as it seemed unlikely that it was the cause of one of the obstacles. That left it either being Cedric or Viktor. I hoped that it wasn't either of them but I had to be on guard either way.

After a while, I had a feeling I was getting closer to the centre of the maze as the number of obstacles that I was encountering was growing in frequency. Luckily they had all been relatively easy to deal with something with was adding to my anxiety and feeling that something wasn't quite right. It was the final task, so surely it shouldn't be this easy.

After dealing with another boggart and a swarm of Cornish pixies I turned a corner just as I heard another scream this one sounding distinctly male and was so loud it sounded as though it was happening right next to me. I frowned seeing nothing ahead of me and as I heard it again I backed up and raised my wand at the hedge now opposite me.

"Bombarda" I shouted

The hedge in front of me exploded and after a few seconds, I ran forward and went through the large gap in the hedge. Just as I went through to the other side the hedge magically repaired itself. Turning around the sight in front of me made me sick to my stomach. Cedric was on the ground screaming and writhing in pain as Viktor stood over him torturing him with the cruciatus curse. I frowned quickly noticing Viktor's glassy expressionless eyes and I quickly realised he must be under the imperious curse.

"Stupefy" I cast aiming my wand at Viktor

Cedric stopped screaming soon after the curse stopped as Viktor fell to the ground stunned. I ran forward over to Cedric to make sure he was okay.

"Cedric are you okay?"I asked kneeling down on the ground next to him

"Yeah, I'm okay now. Thanks by the way" He said sounding much weaker than normal as he slowly sat up from the ground.

"Don't mention it"I said as I helped him stand up once he was feeling up to it. We looked over at where Viktor was laying on the ground.

"He was under the imperious curse. He stunned Fleur earlier on. I sent up red sparks" I explained

Cedric nods."I saw them but I wasn't sure who sent them up"

"We should do the same thing for Viktor. Are you sure your feeling well enough to continue?"I ask concerned

"Trying to get me out of the running Potter?"He teased playfully

"Maybe. Maybe not"I smiled back

He shook his head a smile on his face as he raised his wand and sent up red sparks. "Come on we should move away from here"

I nodded as we continued forwards leaving Viktor behind. We worked together to take out the increasing numbers of obstacles we were facing.

"We must be getting close to the cup now," Cedric said.

What felt like at least an hour but was probably only a few minutes went by and we turned a corner and saw the cup at the end of the path in front of us. As we reached the cup we looked at each other silently asking who was going to take the cup.

"Cedric you take it. You were the original Hogwarts champion. You deserve it"I say to him

"No Hayley if either of us deserves it, it's you. You saved me back there with Viktor, you made sure to forewarn me about the dragons in the first task and you stayed behind in the second task to rescue Fleur's sister in addition to Blaise."Cedric argues.

I sigh and hear loud rustling begin behind us. I look back and see that the hedge has started to move and is quickly racing towards us. I look back glancing at the cup and then back at Cedric.

"Let's grab it together," I say

He looks at me and nods."Okay. On three"

I start counting and on three we reach out and grab the cup at the same time. I watch as the maze dissolves around us into a mix of swirling colours and close my eyes as nausea starts to kick in.

I reopen them when nausea subsides and I notice that we are not back at the entrance but rather an old and really eerie looking graveyard that for some reason feels extremely familiar.

 **Authors - Hey guys I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I finally got this to a point where I am happy with it. I am hoping to get back onto a more consistent schedule as I finish uni in about a week and a half. Once I have gotten to the end of the events of Goblet of fire I will be continuing the story into Year 5. If you have any ideas don't hesitate to PM me.**


	23. Chapter 23 - Facing the Enemy

_Taking_ _Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley(POV)

As the cup dropped us on to the ground I had stumbled and landed awkwardly on my left ankle. It hurt a lot but luckily it didn't feel broken at all.I hoped that it was just sprained and that I would still be able to stand and walk on it. Slowly standing up I tested it to see how much weight I could put on it. Thankfully I was able to walk,or more accurately,limp around it.

Cedric (POV)

I felt the familiar effects of a portkey as Hayley and I touched the cup. I had expected that it would take us back to the entrance of the maze but when I felt the two of us land on the ground and opened my eyes I frowned seeing that rather than being back at the entrance we were in some kind of graveyard. Hayley and I stood up and took in our surroundings for a moment. The place had obviously seen better days with headstones that had started sinking into the ground at odd angles with many of them covered in moss and ivy. The names on the stones had also started fading and were hard to make out. There were a variety of different looking gravestones, with some being quite simple and plain and others more decorative. Then there were large above-ground mausoleums and tombs topped with statues. From the graveyard, you could see what looked to be a large manor house on the top of a hill a short distance away. While Hayley was still looking around I went back over to where the portkey had fallen on the ground.

Hayley(POV)

As I looked around at the graveyard trying to figure out why it looked so familiar the grave that was topped with a large stone statue of an angel holding a scythe caught my eye and I headed over to it. Bending down next to it I squinted as I tried to make out the names on it that had long since started to fade. After casting a quick Lumos to give myself some more light I was just able to make out the names.

' _Thomas Riddle'_

' _Mary Riddle'_

 _'Tom Riddle Snr'_

I felt my pulse quicken as I was put things together. After I had found out Voldemort's true identity back in my second year, Dumbledore told me that the Riddle Family had all been murdered in 1943. Muggle Authorities had suspected the Riddle's gardener Frank Bryce while Voldemort's uncle Morfin Gaunt had confessed to the Ministry of Magic that he was the one responsible for killing the family and had been sentenced to life in Azkaban. The truth was that Voldemort (Tom Marvolo Riddle) had killed them and altered his uncle's memory so that he would confess to the murder. It then hit me that this was the house that I had been in my nightmares a few months ago.

Standing back up straight I took a few steps back."Cedric, we need to get out of here"

"Why?"He asks confused at my urgency

"We just do. We need to get back to the cu-"My sentence is cut off as a figure steps out from a side door under an archway in front of us.

The figure turns to face us and even in the dark, I can clearly make out that the figure is Wormtail. I am unable to say anything else as a sharp jolt of pain radiated from my scar causing me to double over in pain with one hand clutching my forehead.

"Hayley, what is it?"Cedric asks concerned coming over to my side

"Cedric get back to the cup," I say trying to breathe through the pain

Cedric notices Wormtail take a few steps towards us and Cedric immediately points his wand at him. "Who are you?!" He demands

As Wormtail stops momentarily I see for the first time that he is carrying something in one arm wrapped in some black fabric. I hear the creature speak out in a raspy, ragged voice. "Kill the spare"

Wormtail raises a wand at Cedric and shout. "Avada Kedavra"

I am powerless to watch as the blinding green light soared through the air with an accompanying rushing sound hitting Cedric square in the chest.

"NOO CEDRIC!"I screamed as the spell collided with Cedric and he fell to the ground in an instant completely lifeless.

Wormtail stalked closer to me as he conjured ropes before using them to tie me to the Riddle Headstone. He said nothing as he turned back around and lit the cauldron that was in front and just to the left of the headstone. Wormtail then proceeded to unravel the cloth and drop the creature into the cauldron. He then started some kind of ritual.

"Bone of the father unknowingly given, you will renew your son, "He said as he raised the wand and an old and extremely brittle looking bone out of the ground that he then dropped into the cauldron.

My brain started to race as I realised that Wormtail was performing a ritual to bring Voldemort back to full form. I started to really regret not wearing my communication ring during the task now. Not that it would have done much good considering the likelihood of anyone besides maybe my friends believing me were very slim.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master"Wormtail continued. This time he raised his hand over the bubbling cauldron before raising the sharp dagger as well. I realised what he was about to do and I immediately shut my eyes to block the sight. Shutting my eyes, however, did nothing to block the ear-splitting anguished scream of pain that pierced through the silence of the night. I heard a soft splash as Wormtail's right hand fell into the cauldron.

I opened my eyes as I heard Wormtail walking over to me his right-hand limp at his side and whimpering softly in pain as he ripped my right sleeve and I scrunched my eyes shut tight letting out a cry of pain as I felt the dagger pierce my arm.

"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you shall resurrect your foe" Wormtail dragged the dagger from the crook of my elbow down to about the halfway point of my forearm.

I weakly opened my eyes to see Wormtail fumbling around in his robe pocket for a few seconds until he pulled out a clear vial. He placed the vial to my arm and I watched horrified as a few drops of blood fell into the vial. He moved back pouring the contents of the vial into the cauldron.

With his job finished Wormtail sank to the floor clutching his arm to his chest. The cauldron started to spark and bubble vigorously before steam and mist billowed out from the cauldron filling the graveyard so much that I was unable to see anything else in the graveyard.

Once the smoke cleared enough to allow me to see I watched as the cauldron melted away and a pale and slightly skeletal figure emerged from where the cauldron once sat.

I watched as Wormtail approached the figure and placed a long black robe over the robe had been placed over him the figure slowly turned around and I tried to hold back a scream as my scar erupted in pain as I came face to face with Voldemort.

Voldemort observed me for a moment before turning took a few moments to inspect his new body before turning to Wormtail who was still kneeling on the right arm still cradled amongst his black robes that were now shining wet with blood.

I noticed that Wormtail wouldn't dare to look Voldemort in the eye as he whimpered on the ground."My Lord …. Please you-you promised"

"Hold out your arm Wormtail"Voldemort commanded uninterested

Wormtail slowly extended his right arm from where he was cradling it amongst his robes."Thank you my lord"

Voldemort laughed coldly."Your other arm"

"Please master"Wormtail pleaded again

Voldemort bent down and harshly grabbed Wormtails left arm and pulled his robe sleeve up exposing his dark mark. The dark mark was currently red in colour. He pressed his finger to the mark causing a sharp wave of pain to go through not only Wormtail but myself. I noted a small trickle of blood coming down from the scar down the side of my face.

I watched as the mark turned from deep red to jet black.I remembered back to Lucius telling me that when Voldemort had disappeared it had faded and had slowly been getting darker in the past 12 months.

"It is us see how many will be brave enough to return and how many will be foolish to stay away."Voldemort muttered mostly to himself.

Shortly after the sky was filled with several black robes swirling around as various death eaters landed in the graveyard forming a circle around Voldemort,Wormtail and myself. Each one bowed to Voldemort one at a time. I took note that there were several gaps in the circle where death eaters were missing.

I half listened when Voldemort started his speech about how they abandoned they abandoned the cause after his supposed demise.I stopped listening part way through as the cut on my arm was still bleeding,Wormtail probably cut slightly deeper than was necessary. Not to mention the pain in my down it was already becoming slightly swollen.

' _Stupid Portkey'_ I thought to myself scowling.

I started to pay attention again as Voldemort started to address the Death Eaters by name.

He looked at Wormtail first."You returned to me out of fear not worthless and traitorous as you are,you helped that you will be rewarded" He waved his wand and instantly a silver metal hand had formed around the bleeding stump. He tested it out picking a stone up from the ground and crushed it into tiny pieces.

"Thank you my lord"Wormtail spoke as he stood up joining the circle properly.

He strode past Wormtail and mask was removed with a wave of his wand."Lucius I have been told that despite the respectable appearance you present to the world you have still remained loyal to the cause"

I looked down avoiding looking at him.I knew that if I were to look his way he might try to send me a look of reassurance which could potentially be caught by Voldemort or one of the other Death Eaters.

I kept my head down until I was sure that Voldemort had moved on.

Looking up I noticed that there was a gap between Lucius and the next gap was big enough for three people.

"The Lestranges should be here,but they are in Azkaban. They never renounced their faith in the will be freed from Azkaban and will be rewarded beyond their dreams same applies to Simpson"He says as he moves the stand in front of the next person. Once again the mask was was a woman who had light brown hair and hazel was quite tan had a similar look to her that Narcissa and Mrs Weasley had. She had the look of a mother. He moved away again passing some in silence and others he stopped in front of. I was able to pick up on five names. Macnair,Crabbe,Goyle ,Nott and Avery. After moving away he came to a large gap.

"Six missing Rosier,Grayson and Rutterson died in service of the cause. Karkaroff has completely abandoned the cause and will be caught and punished like the coward he is. Snape will have to prove that he is still loyal to the may have been able to sway his allegiance. Then there is one more. He is the most loyal of you is at Hogwarts. He ensured that our special guest made it here tonight.

I felt the eyes of all the death eaters turn towards me momentarily before looking back at Voldemort. "You see back on that fateful Halloween I was left practically soul was ripped from my body after that pathetic mudbloods sacrifice. She used some very old and powerful magic that I had sacrifice protected her child with blood magic that prevented me from touching that same blood runs through me"

He walked closer towards me and pressed his forefinger to my forehead and I bit back a scream. My scar began to burn more painful than it had done so ever before. Thankfully Voldemort stepped back and turned back to his followers.

"13 years I have waited for this the moment I would be the moment I would enact my the moment I would finally kill Hayley Potter"Voldemort says to his followers.

At this all his followers turn to face me again.I force myself to not look down and glare at the back at Voldemort's head instead. He glances at his followers and then towards Wormtail."She will be given the chance to fight before I kill her"

I watched as Wormtail grabs my wand from where it had dropped from my hand when he had killed Cedric, before coming over towards me. He used the dagger to cut through the ropes that bound me and I felt myself fall forwards onto my threw my wand down on the ground in front of me before scuttling back to his place in the circle.

I took a moment to gather my strength before standing up. The pain in my scar returned as Voldemort faced me once again but I was able to mostly ignore it. After I refused to bow to him at the start of the duel he used magic to force me to bow.I felt him release the spell and almost immediately as the duel began he cast the cruciatus curse. I was caught off guard and was unable to do anything to block or dodge the spell.I fell to the ground in pain.I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming out as I wasn't going to give Voldemort or his followers the satisfaction of hearing me scream.

Shortly after I felt him release the curse.I stood up as quickly as I could and immediately shot a spell back.I knew that the majority of spells I cast at him would be easily blocked so I decided to think outside of the box. Rather than aiming the spell directly at him I sent a powerful blasting hex at his feet. The force of the spell being so close to him knocked him onto his back and he appeared shocked at what I had done. As he started to get up I quickly ran and dived behind the statue just behind me.I saw a spell race past me and blast the corner of a grave stone off throwing debris everywhere. As I took a few moments to collect myself I could hear Voldemort taunting me.

Knowing the only way I would be able to get out of here and back to Hogwarts would be to fight and hope that I would be able to distract Voldemort and his followers for long enough to get to the cup. Recapping the spells I knew, mainly those from the book from Lucius I took a breath trying to calm my nerves as I came out from behind the statue.

Voldemort and I faced each other both momentarily silent and as though a silent and invisible bell rang the two of us cast at each other.

"Avada Kedavra!"Voldemort yelled

"Expeliarmus!"I screamed

The two spells met in the middle neither spell overpowering the other for more than a few seconds. Multicolored sparks were released from the center. Suddenly the streams of magic coming from the spells turned gold and released a mostly transparent Shield around Voldemort and I.

Before I knew what was really happening a large amount of silvery blue most came from the competing spells,it floated around for a bit until it formed shapes which them formed into it showed Cedric who asked me to take his body back to his it showed a man I regonised vaguely from my dreams as Frank Bryce. Thirdly it formed a woman I recognised once again vaguely as Bertha it formed my mum and dad.

"Hayley dear, you've done so well and been so brave"My mum said softly

"When we tell you you need to release the spell and back to the cup and it will take you back"My father continued.

I nod more to myself than anyone else.

After only a few seconds I released the spell into the air on my parents the apparitions all floated forward towards Voldemort and his followers blocking me from view I ran as quickly as I possibly could back towards the cup and Cedric.

I vaguely heard and saw some spells flying past me so I responded by blindly casting spells over my shoulder towards the Death Eaters. As I was now able to cast the powerful cutting spell wordlessly I threw a number of them as well as blasting hexes. I knew that at least two of the death eaters had been hit quite hard as I heard them fall to the ground groaning in pain.

Just as I dived forward onto the floor next to Cedric throwing my left arm over his upper body grabbing hold of his shirt I heard someone cast somekind of spell that hit it's target of my left leg. A wave of extreme pain ran through my whole leg.

"Accio Portkey"I shouted aiming my wand at the cup.I watched it fly towards me and straight into my waiting hand.I once again felt nauseous and a hooked feeling behind my navel as the world became a swirling mess of colours. I made sure to keep !y eyes closed until I was absolutely certain that we were back on solid ground.

Opening my eyes I found that we were back at the entrance to the maze.I heard people cheering and clapping and musical fanfare and voices coming towards me but I couldn't make anything out.

I just kept clinging to Cedric's shirt when people started to realise that something bad had happened and I could feel someone trying to get me to let go off Cedric my grip stayed strong as I refused to let go.

 **Authors Note - Hey guys sorry about the long delay in posting this chapter. Finishing college was more stressful than i anticipated and then I got caught up in the enjoyment of starting my summer holidays. When I remembered that I hadn't finished the chapter I was about to go on holiday for two weeks so i had to write the chapter in small doses over the course of two weeks. Now that I am free for the summer I should hopefully be able to get onto a semi-normal schedule once again. The next chapter should be up on the 16th of July. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	24. Chapter 24 - A Traitor Revealed

_Taking Chances and Making Changes_

 **Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet.**

 **Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognise it from the books/films then it is not mine.**

Hayley POV

I was laying on a bed in the hospital wing trying to process everything that had happened in the past few hours. After Moody had taken me to his office to get away from the scene at the arena entrance, it had been revealed that he had actually been Barty Crouch Jr disguised as Moody using polyjuice. After they had used veritiserum to question him he had told us the whole plan had been to get me in Voldemort's clutches. The idea to use the tournament to do it had been thought of after the original plan of taking me from my relatives had been unsuccessful. After he had revealed everything the minister had arrived and rather than taking him to the ministry for a trial he had had him executed almost immediately by way of the Dementor's Kiss. Dumbledore had wanted me to tell him exactly what had happened but Professor McGonagall insisted that I go to the Hospital Wing and that questions could be answered later.

All my friends and family had wanted to see me but I had told Madame Pomfrey that I didn't want to see anyone. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice that Madame Pomfrey had come over. I turned and sat up to face her.

"How are you feeling Miss Potter?"She asked kindly

I sighed. "I don't feel anymore pain right now so that's good"

She nods."That's good. I figured that with the day you've had one of these wouldn't go amiss"She says gesturing to the glass of purple-coloured liquid that I knew was dreamless sleep potion.

"Thank you Madame Pomfrey"I say taking the glass

"Your welcome Miss Potter"She says giving me a small smile.

I drink the potion down in one and wrinkle my nose slightly at the taste. I felt the drowsiness take effect almost immediately so I handed the glass back to Madame Pomfrey before taking my glasses off and placing them on the bedside table before laying down again. I very quickly fall asleep.

* * *

I had been let out of the hospital wing on Monday morning after breakfast and I made a quick detour to my dorm to grab my bag and the things I would need for my Potions and Ancient Runes exam. I knew that I wouldn't run into any of my friends as I knew they would be in the library doing some last minute studying. I had seen them briefly yesterday and Hermione had said that's where they would be. I saw that I had a spare hour before the exam so I decided to go up to the Astronomy Tower for some quiet time to myself for about 20 minutes or so. I headed down to the Potions classroom about 30 minutes we had to be there and I was unsurprised to find that I was the first person to arrive. When my friends arrived about 20 minutes later they were surprised.

"Hayley what are you doing out of the hospital wing?"Hermione asked giving me a hug

"Madame Pomfrey released me this morning"I explained

"Are you sure your really up to taking the exam. Given what happened I'm sure if you asked they would allow you to miss it?"Neville said awkwardly.

"I know if I asked they probably would but I don't want to miss it. "I've worked so hard on revising for these exams and I'm going to take them"I say

My friends nod and we talked about random things for the next 10 minutes trying to calm ourselves down.

After everyone had arrived and gone to their regular desks, Snape took attendance to mark who was present and who wasn't. After a brief pause of confusion after my name he continued with the rest of the class. It was the name after mine that caused me to frown slightly. "Iyona Simpson"Snape read and she acknowledged that she was here. I thought back to when Voldemort had been speaking to his death eaters and had referred to one of them as Simpson.I couldn't help but wonder if she knew why her father was in Azkaban or if she knew that her mother was also a death eater.

It was a few hours later after both of my exams that I found myself in my dorm looking for a specific piece of parchment. I was looking through my trunk looking for the lineage test that I had done at Gringotts. After I found it I looked at it again and found what had been bugging me for the past few hours. My great aunt Mary Potter had married Edward Simpson making her Iyona's grandmother.

* * *

It was a few hours later and I was once again in the Astronomy tower. I was sat with my legs dangling over the edge looking out over the lake enjoying the feeling of the ever so rare sunshine. I was enjoying the peace and quiet when I heard the door open and someone walk in before stopping.

"Oh i'm sorry I didn't realise anyone would be up here. I hope I didn't disturb you"A girl said from behind me

I carefully turned around to face them and saw that it was Iyona. "No it's okay. You didn't disturb me"I say

"Are you sure. I can go if you'd like"She says

"No it's can stay if you want to"I smile

We sat in silence for a few minutes before I turned to her. "Your Iyona Simpson right?"

I notice her frown slightly before nodding."Yes how did you know?"

"I remembered your name from when Professor Snape took attendance for the exam"I explained

"Oh okay"She nods

I took a breath before continuing."I don't really know how else to tell you this but were cousins"

"Wait what. Cousins?"She says shocked

"Yeah. Second cousins if were being technical"I say

"How?"She asks

"My great aunt is your grandmother"I explain taking the parchment with the lineage test on it out of my pocket and handing it to her.

She is silent for a few minutes as she looks at the parchment. She then hands it back to me.

"Wow. I didn't know I had any cousins. Both my mum and dad have siblings but no kids"She explains

I nod. We spent some time getting to know one about an hour or two we headed to the Great Hall for dinner parting ways at the entrance,myself going to the Gryffindor table and Iyona going to the Slytherin table.

 **Authors Note - Hey guys I'm sorry the chapter is so short. I had hoped to do a longer chapter and even gave myself time for it but I became ill and was unable to do any writing. The next few chapters should hopefully be longer. I should have the next chapter up for the 6th of August if not before. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


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